The Favor
by Agrabah's Princess
Summary: Abby needed Gibbs. She REALLY needed him. And this was the one time Gibbs actually had to stop and think about what he was willing to do for his favorite person. This will be Gabby. Rating may change.
1. Wish Upon A Tube

AN: Hello fair readers. This is my second NCIS story. I have a rather obsessive affection for Gabby, so I had to contribute to the madness. :D I hope you all like my convoluted plan to have Gibbs get Abby pregnant. I haven't seen another story out there like this, so I hope you all like it! Oh, feel free to point out mistakes if you find them. Thank you!

Chapter One

Wish Upon a Tube

Gibbs had been noticing something change about Abby for the past few months. She didn't go out to as many parties. He would sometimes catch her deep in thought with a sad look etched into her face. Something had been bothering her and she never told him. It was starting to wear on his nerves. It had even kept him from sleeping a few nights. Just as he was about to force her into an interrogation room she perked up.

One morning she just came to work happier than she had been in a long time. Gibbs wished he knew what made her so happy but figured it only mattered that she was happy. Almost two months past and he had let the whole incident slip his mind an hour after he saw she was back to her usual self.

"Hey Gibbs," Abby said as she walked through the bull pen to get to the other elevator, tightening her clack trench coat around her.

"Yeah, Abby?" Gibbs asked as he stood from his desk, slung his jacket over his shoulders, and walked with her to the elevator. They had just wrapped up their latest case and Gibbs hadn't been home in almost eighteen hours.

They both got into the elevator and pushed the button for the garage and waited. "Wanna go out to dinner?" She offered smiling hugely. He knew there was another reason for her offer and wasn't going to deny his favorite person at NCIS.

"Sure, but I pick the place." He stipulated with a pointed finger. He loved Abby, but she picked some odd places to eat.

"Yes, Sir." She said with a mock salute as the elevator doors opened to the garage.

Gibbs chuckled under his breath as he led Abby to his car.

He drove them to his favorite dinner, just outside the downtown area and didn't even look twice at the table, that was shrouded in frost, he normally sat in outside as he ushered his extremely pale forensic scientist into the little blue building. Gibbs let Abby pick the booth in the back corner, away from everything and waited for their server.

"Gibbs, can I ask you something?" Abby asked impatiently.

"You know you can, Abby." Gibbs said smiling. He always thought it was cute when she was frazzled.

She bit her lip hesitantly and looked around for a moment. Once her eyes settled back on him she sucked in a quick breath. "Would you be the father of my baby?" She rushed frantically.

Gibbs almost choked. "What?" He spat.

"I've just had my friends and my work in my life and I was fine with that, 'cause I was happy with where I was. And its not that I'm not happy with you guys but I feel like there is something big missing from my life. I'm not getting any younger and my stupid biological clock is starting to tick!" She yelled frustratedly.

"Abby…" He trailed off tiringly.

"I've already started planning for artificial insemination, and all I need is a father." She said quickly.

Gibbs couldn't find anything to say.

"I can't ask McGee because that would be too awkward and Tony would have a panic attack at the though of being a father with anyone. Besides, your bone structure with my lips, honestly, that baby would be gorgeous." She rambled nervously.

"What about your job?" He asked once he found his voice.

"I already have my replacement." She said happily, pulling a file out of her bag and handing it to Gibbs. He didn't even glance down at the manila folder. "We graduated college together, ironically she got pregnant before we got our first job." She explained with a snicker. Gibbs looked at Abby with a raised brow. "Tristan is eight, he's in school and afterschool daycare." She answered the unasked question behind his blue eyes.

"Is this what you really want?" He asked seriously.

"I've been thinking about this for years and I've been planning it for months and I'm sure this is what I want, Gibbs. Will you, please?" She pled earnestly.

"I dunno Abbs." He muttered shaking his head.

"Why not?!" She cried out.

"I'm old!" He almost yelled.

"So, you're not carrying it!" She yelled back. Gibbs couldn't find another valid argument. "Please Gibbs, there is no one else I can trust with this." She said with a frown. He let out a long breath. "Well, maybe Sperm Donor one hundred and thirty seven." She murmured.

He winced. The last thing he needed to imagine was Abby impregnated by some random Joe that didn't deserve to have a child by his brilliant forensic scientist. "Abby…" He said looking down at his hands.

"I don't need an answer now. I mean, the procedure isn't for another two weeks, but I've been procrastinating on this for a while." She said softly.

His head snapped up. "Two weeks?" He asked surprised.

"Like I said Gibbs, I've been planning this for a while." She said with an impish smile.

Gibbs slipped deeper into the booth.

"If you can't do it because of…" She trailed off when Gibbs looked away from her and out the windows. He knew what and who she was talking about. "I'll understand," She whispered.

Gibbs couldn't look anywhere near Abby's pristine green eyes because all he would see was the sympathy she felt for him.

Abby was silent for a few moments before she let out a quiet laugh. "I told my friends, they're all really happy for me, I even got some really awesome maternity clothes so I don't have to wear those horrible floral tents while I wait for the munchkin to cook. My brother is coming for a few weeks in six months-" She was cut of from her ramble by Gibbs raising his finger.

"Abby," he said urgently.

"Yeah Gibbs," She asked hopefully.

"You'll make a great mother." He said sincerely.

She deflated a little but her eyes still twinkled with happiness. "Thanks Gibbs," She said with a weak smile.

He reached over the table and held her hands tightly. "Give me a few days, okay?" He asked looking Abby straight in the eyes.

She let out a long, impatient sigh. "Okay,"

He nodded happily and dropped her hands to pick up the menu. "Burger or steak?" He asked looking at the mostly meat menu.

The rest of the night was far more casual than it should have been. Abby continued to chat about random things from the day without so much as an ounce of awkwardness. Gibbs added the proper noise or word when needed but as always Abby held the conversation on her own. They finished their dinner and Gibbs drove Abby back to the parking garage on the Navy Yard and walked her to her car. He did that often since she had a penchant for being stalked by unsavory characters.

"See you tomorrow Abs," He said opening the car door for her.

Instead of getting into the car, or reciprocating his goodbyes, she launched herself at him. Gibbs almost had the wind knocked out of him but caught her all the same and hugged her back. "Thank you Gibbs," She muttered as she hugged him tightly.

"For you what?" He asked against her pigtail.

She pulled away from him, just slightly so she could face him. "Thinking about it, I know this is a hard subject for you and your being so awesome about it." She said thankfully.

"Abby," He said smiling slightly.

"Yes?" She asked smiling widely.

Gibbs leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Go home," he said softly.

She rolled her eyes a little. "Yes Sir," She said mockingly before slipping into her car.

Gibbs watched as Abby drove off, keeping a keen eye on her hearse as he made his way back to his car. His mind was so burdened that it took him almost half an hour to get his house. He threw the Charger into park and stalked into his home and down to the basement. His boat was primed and ready for his troubled dinner, with a bottle of bourbon on the bench next to it.

He poured the bourbon slowly into his favorite mug and dropped to the bench and took a long swig of the amber alcohol. His favorite NCIS employee had given him too much to think about for the night. He hadn't thought about having another family in a long time and was content with that but his conversation with Abby brought up a lot of questions and feelings.

He would do anything for Abby. Take a bullet for her. Kill any one that made her cry. But he wasn't sure if he could let her carry his child. That was too intimate. That would be too much for him, making a little person to join his dysfunctional family unit. He loved his team, and Duck and Abby, and hell some times he liked Palmer, but it worked for them. They were mostly outcasts with little to no family and it was just something that happened over time.

Gibbs would never question a decisions Abby made for her personal life, well maybe a few about her choice in men, but he knew it would be a bad idea to bring a baby, his baby, into the life they both led. Well, that's what his head said, his gut had no comment for the moment and it was driving him crazy.

When all logic failed, his gut always told him what to do, and now it was sitting on the sideline, letting his loyalty to Abby and his fear of loosing those he cared about duke it out. Over the years the later had won, but this fight was a close one. Just the thought of Abby's disappointed eyes and her flat stomach rounded with another man's baby made bile rise from deep in his throat.

He finished off the mug of bourbon and poured another one, downing half of it seconds later.

It was going to be a long night.

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	2. The Waiting Game

AN: Oh my god, this took forever!!!! I really love this story, but its hard to write all the stuff _before_ the pregnancy, cause that's when it gets fun. Anyway, the next chapter with be much easier, no Gibbs sadly, but it will be out pronto. Thank you all for the reviews, and I hope you enjoy chapter two. PS, I only own Evelyn and Tristan, the rest is all CBS property. :D

Chapter Two

The Waiting Game

Abby was actually a very patient person, she could wait for days when it came to blood tests and evidence without much of an issue. Of course she had other things to be doing during that time. So she thought she could do the same with her current situation. And as always, it didn't work in her favor.

She was actually swamped with a triple homicide from Gibbs. She had been running test after test and she was still anxious. She knew she couldn't look anxious in front of Gibbs. She needed him to believe that this wasn't interfering with her job, even if it did have a little impact.

She went through all the evidence she could and used her breaks to double check what she was able to process to make sure she didn't screw anything up. She had a feeling Gibbs would really spank her this time if she botched this. She was halfway through uploading all the finger prints collected from the scene when Gibbs and McGee stalked into the lab.

"Hey Gibbs," Abby said happily, not looking long at McGee.

"What do you have for me?" He asked as soon as he was standing next to her.

"A lot of fingerprints and not a lot of time Gibbs." She chided.

"Give me something." He said firmly.

"Well, I can tell you there was only one killer. There was only one set of prints on the knife and I can confirm it was used to kill all three Petty Officers." She said assuredly.

"Who?" Gibbs asked impatiently.

"I don't know yet, I'm still running the prints through AFIS." She said calmly.

"Abs-" He started lowly.

"I'll call you when I have more Gibbs." She said sternly.

Gibbs said nothing as he stormed out of the lab.

"He's in a particularly cranky mood today." McGee grumbled.

"So what are you still doing here?" Abby asked confused. The team was always on their toes when Gibbs was cranky, which Abby was attributing to a serial killer not the favor she asked the night before. Denial was a wonderful thing.

McGee set three laptops onto the evidence table. "The victims' computers." He breathed tiringly.

"Oh, well, you start on that and I'll finish up with what I have already." She muttered, turning back to her computers.

"I might need your help with getting into one of the computers, one of the victims was the paranoid type." He grumbled with a wrinkled nose.

"I'll help when I can McGee." She said lowly.

"Are you and Gibbs in tuned when it comes to moods, because you both have an attitude today?" McGee asked a little annoyed. He had a migraine and hadn't eaten in ten hours, he was more than a little cranky himself.

"I don't know McGee, am I supposed to be happy about a triple homicide?" She asked angrily.

"I was just saying-" He stammered.

"I know, I'm sorry I snapped at you." She interrupted apologetically.

Tim sighed. "Its okay, we're all on edge."

She looked back to her computer and was about to continue her apology when she noticed the time on the screen. "Oh crap." She cursed, turning to run to her desk.

Tim followed with concern. "What's wrong Abby?" He asked worryingly.

She opened up her top right drawer and took out one of the three files she had on her forensic friend and slammed the drawer shut. "I have to go do something, can you hold down the fort for like half an hour?" She asked sweetly.

"Uh, yeah, but Abby-" McGee was swiftly stopped by a brief hug from Abby before she went running.

"Thanks Tim!" She yelled over her shoulder before she was out of her lab.

Abby rushed to the elevators and for the level that held the Directors office. The elevator dinged and opened and she ran passed two agents, throwing her apologies over her shoulder, and for the Directors office. She continued to run passed Vance's assistant, yelling to her that she had an appointment. She skidded to a halt in front of the Directors desk and took a minute to catch her breath.

"Ms. Sciuto?" Vance asked with a raised brow.

"Director, we have an appointment." She explained.

Vance looked down to the paper on his desk and then back up at Abby. "Yes, I was wondering about that, you stated it was personal matters you wanted to discuss." He was confused, and tried not to show it.

"Yes, it's about my baby, well, the one I'm going to have." Abby said firmly.

Vance couldn't hide the shock on his face. "You're pregnant?" He asked astonished. He never figured Abby for one to have children.

"Not yet, I'm going in for artificial insemination in two weeks." She amended.

Vance was pretty sure he didn't quite need to know that detail of how she was going to become pregnant. "Okay," He muttered.

Abby handed the file she brought with her to Vance. "I have my replacement chosen already, I trust her with my life and my lab." She said seriously.

"Are you leaving NCIS?" Vance asked a little disappointed. He was fine with her having a family, he just hoped she would still continue to work with NCIS.

"No!" Abby exclaimed, worryingly. "I'm working up to the day I give birth, she's just going to work in my place for two months while I'm on maternity leave." She explained.

"I see," He said lowering himself slowly into his seat and he started to review the file he was just given.

"If that's okay with you, Director." She said timidly.

He looked at Evelyn Carmine's stats. She had a file almost identical to Abby's, only she had just rejoined the work force three years ago, after a sabbatical since college. He was impressed and she would probably make his short list if he had to hire a new forensic scientist. "I'd like to meet her first, if you don't mind." He said jokingly.

"Not at all, but I'm telling you now, I won't let anyone else touch my lab." She said sternly.

"Duly noted." He said dryly. He wasn't going to tell her that he would hire anyone she recommended. "Can I ask, what brought about this sudden choice to get pregnant?" He asked curiously.

"Oh Director, I've been planning this for months, I just figured you might want to know before I start throwing up everywhere." She said casually.

Vance stared at his forensic scientist blankly for a moment. "Thanks for the heads up."

She shrugged. "No problem." She said nonchalantly. She turned to leave but Vance spoke up before she reached the door.

"Ms. Sciuto," Vance said in his authoritative voice.

Abby suppressed a wince and turned back to Vance. "Yes Director?" She asked cautiously.

"Good luck, your gonna need it." He said with a wink.

"Thank you, Director." She said thankfully, smiling widely. She turned and skipped out of his office and almost ran into Tony. "Hey Tony," She said happily, her sour mood had turned bright since Vance was supportive of her becoming a mother.

"Hey Abs, what were you and the Director talking about?" Tony asked suspiciously, looking over her shoulder at the Directors door.

"Do you really want to know?" She asked teasingly.

Tony nodded. "Yes," he answered quickly.

"Well, then your out of luck." She said brightly, patting him on the shoulder then bounced away toward the elevator.

When she got back to her lab, McGee was frustratingly trying to hack the laptop of the paranoid victim and was having little luck. He groaned and dropped his head to the evidence table, banging it against the cold metal a few times.

"McGee?" Abby asked worryingly.

McGee snapped up and turned to look at Abby embarrassed. "That was quick." He noted, glancing at his watch.

She skipped passed him and to her computers. "Anything beep while I was gone?" She asked as she went back to the finger print analysis.

"No…" He trailed off suspiciously. Abby could feel his eyes boring into the back of her head. It almost made her nervous, almost.

"Good, back to work Timmy!" She ordered.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Gibbs stormed passed the Directors secretary, who tried to stop him futilely, and into Vance's office, letting the door close loudly behind him and standing rigidly in front of the Directors desk. He didn't like being pulled away from a case by his controlling Director.

"You wanted to see me Director?" Gibbs asked impatiently.

Vance stood and walked over to the bar in the corner and poured a glass of Scotch and took a small sip. "I got some interesting news from Abby." He said as he walked back to his desk, glancing at Gibbs to see his response. Gibbs didn't even blink. "Apparently she's going to be pregnant soon." He added as casually as Abby had announced it as he sat back at his desk. Gibbs still did nothing. "Did you know anything about this Gibbs?" He asked almost accusingly.

Gibbs clenched his fists. He had wished Abby told him she was telling the Director about her newest project. "Its Abby's business, why are we discussing it?" He asked slightly angered.

"She's one of the best employee's I have, I want to make sure I keep her." Vance said sternly.

"You're not losing anyone Leon." Gibbs said knowingly. Abby loved NCIS too much to leave, even after having a baby. "You might want to start working on the NCIS daycare before she jumps down your throat." He offered coolly.

"I'll move it to the top of my list of things to do." Vance said sarcastically.

Gibbs chuckled to himself. "You think I'm joking Leon?" He asked laughingly.

Vance sobered as Gibbs walked out of the office and back toward the bullpen. Just as he was about to reach his desk Tony popped out of nowhere with that curious look in his eye that got him into trouble.

"Boss, I think something's up with Abby." Tony said seriously.

"DiNozzo, do you want to keep your tongue?" Gibbs asked calmly, taking another step to be nose to nose with his agent.

"Yes, Boss." Tony said quickly.

"Then stop talking." Gibbs said seriously and quietly before walking around Tony and to his desk.

"Yes, Boss." Tony repeated, his throat tight with fear. He was pretty sure Gibbs would actually take his tongue if it had something to do with Abby. He shuffled back to his desk before Gibbs could notice his fear.

Gibbs looked at Tony, then to Ziva as she come off the elevators from the crime scene. "What do we have?" He asked looking between his agents.

AN: Review!


	3. The Doctor

AN: Yellow! That took some time, I know. The next chapter is coming along nicely, though, and should be out relatively soon. Don't you hate it when the real world interrupts this place? Gosh, its horrible. Anyway, thank you for the reviews, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter Three

The Doctor

Abby looked over to her old college friend, Evy, and smiled widely. They hadn't kept in touch much for the passed few years, but when Abby mentioned she might want children, they became so much closer. Evy told her the truth about everything, the ups and the downs and how no matter how much you give up, you're still ridiculously in love with the little creature you made.

Abby looked to the woman next to her. She was a curvatious blonde with pale skin, blue-green eyes and thoughtful look on her pretty face. "Thanks again Evy." Abby said gratefully.

Evy turned to look at Abby and smiled. "Are you going to be thanking me the whole pregnancy?" She asked laughingly.

"Yes," Abby answered quickly.

Evy chuckled. "Just making sure," She said rolling her eyes a little.

The eight year old on the other side of Evy sighed dramatically. Tristan shared only his mother's blue-green eyes while his dark brown hair and light golden skin was from his father. "Mom, how long is this going to take?" He asked impatiently.

"A while Tris, that's why you brought your DS and your homework and a book." Evy said sternly, giving her son a glare.

"I hate doctor's offices. They smell funny." Tristan grumbled, sinking deeper into the seat.

"Just because they actually keep it _clean_." Evy countered.

"Yeah, it smells funny." He pressed.

Evy narrowed her eyes on her son. "Go back to your game." She ordered. Tristan shrugged his shoulders and went back to playing on his DS. "What you have to look forward too." She groaned to Abby as she nodded at her son.

"He's a good kid, it could be worse you know." Abby chuckled.

"I know, but he's still a pain in my-" Evy's grumble was cut off by a short Hispanic nurse that walked into the waiting room.

"Abby Sciuto!" The nurse called out.

Abby jumped out of her seat with a face splitting smile. "Here!" She beamed back. Evy was just starting to grab her purse when Abby starter pulling her toward the nurse. "Come on," She rushed. Evy rolled her eyes as she grabbed her purse and the backpack Tristan brought with him and stood along with Tristan and followed Abby up to the nurse.

Abby bounced up to the nurse in her platform shoes, still smiling brightly. The nurse smiled back briefly before looking back at Abby's chart. "Follow me to exam room three." The nurse said as she turned back to the hallway of exam rooms.

The nurse guided them to the room and Abby and Tristan shuffled in first while Evy walked past the nurse slowly, shaking her head at Abby's excited nature.

"Okay, the doctor will be in soon, so please change into the gown, you may keep you bra on, but that's it." The nurse told Abby as she.

Abby nodded. "Okey-dokey," She smiled then the nurse left and shut the door behind her.

Abby tied the gown around her neck and undressed with the gown covering her. Tristan watched curiously as Abby tried to wiggle out of her skinny jeans while Evy folded the clothes Abby threw at her.

"Can I see your tattoos Abby?" Tristan asked hopefully.

Abby couldn't say no to his big brown eyes. "You can see three." She said as she turned her back to him to show her large cross and the two stick figures on her shoulders.

"Whoa! Mom, her tattoo is almost as big as yours!" He exclaimed.

"I know, pretty cool, huh?" Evy asked with a rueful smile.

"Yeah, I like the stick figures." Tristan said pointing to her shoulders.

Abby turned back to face them and hopped up on the exam table. "They're more then stick figures." She said seriously.

"Well, they just look like stick figures. Is there glow in the dark ink around them?!" He asked excitedly.

"No," Abby answered confused.

"Oh," Tristan deflated.

"What is his obsession with glow in the dark ink?" Abby asked Evy curiously.

"My tat guy let him sit in on a job, he's wanted me to get one ever since." Evy answered rolling her eyes as Tristan quickly went back to his DS.

"You're raising him right Evy." Abby said proudly.

"I know, I'm awesome." Evy sighed arrogantly.

The door opened as Abby settled on the exam table to show a tall, dark man with thick black hair and horned rimmed glasses. "Ms. Sciuto?" He asked confused as he walked fulling into the room with Abby's file and shut the door behind him.

"They're fine, Dr. Vogel." Abby assured.

"Tris, why don't you stand behind the table?" Evy asked pointing to the spot to her left that was behind the table.

"Okay Mom," He said obediently and walked around his mother and behind the exam table and leaned against the wall, directly behind Abby.

Dr. Vogel pulled his stool in front of Abby and sat gingerly as he flipped open her file. "Have you brought me that sample?" He asked as he glanced through the file.

"No," Abby mumbled guiltily. She had been meaning to ask Gibbs about that…

He looked up at her sternly. "I need to have it screened before the procedure." He said seriously.

"When's the latest day I can bring a sample in?" Abby asked desperately.

Dr. Vogel sighed through his nose and thought for a moment. "To keep the same procedure date, this Friday or Monday morning." He answered.

"I'll get it to you by Monday morning, I promise." She assured.

"Okay, let's do the exam and then I'll send a nurse in to schedule the blood test." He said as he grabbed two latex gloves from a box and Abby and Evy winced together.

Abby suffered through the exam of cold fingers and instruments with a smile. She was going to have her baby soon, she didn't really have much of a reason to be upset, no matter how frigid the tools. When Dr. Vogel finished he left to find a nurse and let Abby get dressed.

"You ready?" Evy asked grinning as Abby finished dressing, hinting at her impending motherhood.

"I can't think about it Evy." Abby said shaking her head. "I know all the doctors are telling me I'm young and my womb is perfectly ready for a baby, but that doesn't mean it'll happen the first time, so I'm just wait and see and be prepared for both outcomes." She finished firmly.

"I take that as a no." Evy said as she patted Abby's shoulder.

Abby dropped back onto the exam table and her face fell into her hands. "I have to get another place." She groaned.

"One bedroom is fine for the first two years, and then it'll be a little crowded." Evy said knowingly.

Abby looked up, her face suddenly full of horror. "What if it's twins?" She asked grimly. "What if its triplets?!" She exclaimed panicking, trying to jump to her feet.

Evy gripped her friend's shoulders and held her down. "Abby!" Evy yelled. Abby snapped her attention to Evy. "Its some sperm, to your one egg, its good odds it's just going to be one bun in the oven." She said soothingly.

"You don't know that for sure!" Abby yelled frantically. Tristan eyed his pseudo aunt wearily.

"Twins or triplets in your family?" Evy asked calmly.

"No," Abby answered hotly.

"What about the donors you've narrowed it down to?" Evy asked, still cool and collected.

"Not that they have on record." Abby mumbled, defeated.

"That's pretty important, so it means no. You'll be fine Abby." Evy said patting her shoulder.

"What am I gonna name it?" Abby asked, still rather upset. "Is it wrong to call it 'it'? I can't say he or she, I haven't even had the procedure yet!" She exclaimed anxiously.

"Call it Shrimp, it's what I called him." Evy said casually, throwing a nod in Tristan's direction.

"I thought you called me Striker?" Tristan asked confused.

Evy looked over her shoulder with a forced smile. "That was only after you took up playing soccer with my organs." She said with a hint of irritation. Tristan started chuckling as he slunk back in his corner.

Another nurse came into the room as Tristan disappeared behind the exam table. "Ms. Sciuto?" She asked kindly, walking into the room with her kit.

"How much do you need this time?" Abby asked painfully. It was the third blood test she'd had in the month.

"Not much, just enough to run the tests to make sure everything is still all right." The nurse reassured as she shut the door behind her.

Abby groaned and held out her arm. "Okay, take it." She said as she turned her head away and sealed her eyes.

AN: Review!


	4. One More Thing

AN: Gibbs is hard to write! I think I had to rewrite this almost ten times! But, it is done. And I know, I'm a bad girl for taking so long, I hope you can forgive me. :D Enjoy this newest chapter and thank you for all the love.

Chapter Four

One More Thing

It was a long day. A missing Marine had turned up in a row boat in the Atlantic, half dead and his four year old daughter was found dead in his trunk. It was a 'basement, bourbon, boat night' as Tony liked to call it. He was almost to the front elevators when the back elevator's dinged and the chorus of combat boots followed. "GIBBS!" Abby yelled over the bullpen.

Gibbs turned around as Abby ran up to him. "You okay Abby?" He asked concerned. He hadn't had seen her but twice that day and hadn't been around long enough to sense if anything might be wrong with her.

Abby nodded. "Yeah, but I need to talk to you." She said urgently. Gibbs waited. "Alone." She added quietly.

Gibbs took her elbow and guided her into the elevator and pressed the ground floor, just as it started its decent he flipped the emergency switch and looked to her.

"What's up?" He asked expectantly.

"Remember what I asked?" She asked timidly.

"Kinda hard to forget." He said with an impish smile.

"Well, I need another favor." She said cautiously.

He tried not to look as frustrated as he was when she suddenly became quiet.

She seemed to notice his agitation and started explaining herself quickly. "See, I can't use you're… snipers, unless they've been screened for dieses and such, and that takes about a week so, I kind of need you to make a deposit." She rushed through the whole speech and winced a little at the end.

Gibbs' brow knitted and Abby didn't know if he was confused or still frustrated. The two often went hand in hand so she knew she was doomed either way.

She jumped to cover her ass. "I know, you haven't decided and I don't want to push you and if you say no, I won't use them, but just in case, I need you to." She said desperately, handing him a business card for her doctor.

"Time frame Abs?" He asked looking down at the card in his hands and not her vibrant green eyes.

"Monday morning." She answered.

Gibbs flipped the emergency switch and the elevator started descending again. He continued to twirl the card between his fingers until the elevator slowed to a stop and the doors opened and he shoved the little piece of paper into his pocket. He nodded at Abby as he walked out of the elevator, not even trying to manage a smile.

"Have a nice weekend Gibbs!" She called out happily.

He wished he could. He had lost track of time. He hadn't thought much about what Abby had asked and now he had only two days.

He drove home in a daze, not unlike the night Abby had originally asked him to father her child. The doctor's card burned in his pocket and he pulled it out as soon as he was in his driveway and left it in the ash tray. He took his things into his house and dropped them on his kitchen counter and shuffled to his room to change into sweat pants and a tattered shirt before starting work on his boat. He still wasn't sure why he didn't just keep his dresser in his basement…

Abby was giving him more to think about. Most men don't get to choose when they have a child, it just sorta happens. Kelly wasn't planned, she just came out of the blue. The only doubt he ever had was whether or not he would be a good father. Now, he was pretty sure he didn't deserve another shot at parenthood.

He had to stop himself there.

All Abby wanted was to use his genetic material. She didn't say she wanted him to raise the child with her. Then again, it wasn't like she lived on the other side of the country. He would see the baby, whose ever it may be, on a constant basis. Abby was an important part of his life, he wasn't going to cut her out because of a baby. In fact, he was pretty sure the whole team would partake in the child's life, even Ducky and Palmer.

Even if he did let Abby have his baby it wouldn't change much. He knew Abby would never hold it against him for not letting her, but he wasn't sure if he'd be able to live with himself if she had a baby with a random sperm donor. To have _his_ Abby have the child of a man he didn't know. Not that he had to know the man to know he didn't deserve to have a child by Abby.

It was never this difficult for him to sit by and watch her carry on with her life. He could always tell the guys would never last long and she would be by his side forever. But now, this was something that would happen with or without him and would be with her forever.

He sanded the curves of his boat repetitively and tried to find an answer to his puzzle, thinking over every possible option and outcome. It seemed he was doomed from the start. His bourbon was running low and his senses were a little addled but he was still able to smell Ziva's perfume before his stairs creaked. She was wearing her good perfume, which meant she was going out with a man, or had been with a man.

"Officer David," He rumbled suddenly.

She didn't falter on the stairs as he spoke and continued down the stairs and walked right up to him. "Is there something wrong with Abby?" She asked worryingly.

Gibbs was a little amused at her sudden crusade. "What makes you think that?" He asked with a ghost of a smile on his lips as he kept sanding his boat.

Out of the corner of his eye he could see her fists clench out of frustration. "She is very jumpy and is more secretive than usual, what if she has another stalker?" She asked fearfully.

He grabbed his mug and took the last swig of bourbon from it and set it back atop his boat. "If I knew, you would know." He answered quietly.

"I know that Gibbs, but there is something you know, that I do not." She was becoming increasingly impatient.

"And?" He asked as he rubbed a stubborn spot on his boat with the sandpaper.

"And it has me worried." She ground out.

"If it was something important, you'd know." He said simply.

"I do not care if it is important, my only concern is if she is all right!" She yelled practically frantic.

He couldn't play around with Ziva anymore if he wanted to stay in the healthy-ish condition he was in. "She's fine Ziva." He said seriously.

She took in a deep relieved breath. "Thank you," She said gratefully as she turned on her heels and strode back up his stairs.

"Ziva," He called out as she was half way up the stairs.

She stopped and looked down at him. "Yes, Gibbs?" She asked.

"No more trespassing." He said sternly.

A small smile unfurled on her lips. "No promises." She said teasingly and finished walking up the stairs and disappearing into his house.

He shook his head once he heard the front door shut. It was always nice to know that Abby would be well looked after if anything happened to him. He chuckled as he wondered how the team would take her news. He knew the team would all be happy for Abby when she told them. He also knew they would drill her about the father. He hoped she set them straight without letting them know who the father may be or may not be.

Two days had never dragged on so long for Gibbs. Maybe when Kelly and Shannon died, but that was the only time he could remember time being so stubborn. He didn't get more than two hours of sleep a night and that was in between tossing and turning and shots of bourbon. As much as he hated to acknowledge it, he was a little nervous.

Gibbs was never supposed to be nervous. Of course, if anyone was going to make him nervous it was going to be Abby and her shenanigans.

He thought over every painful detail. What would happen if he accepted and if he didn't. What did baby would look like. How long it would take for his team to figure it all out. If he would ever let Abby out of his sight again…

It took over forty-eight hours for him to think through everything. He knew what his answer was the minute he pulled out his old photo of Kelly and Shannon early Monday morning. He took his time in a shower and dressed in his normal clothes, like he was going to work, and left a full hour earlier than usual.

He didn't drive for the Navy Yard, he drove toward a medical building twenty minutes from his home. The parking lot was scarce and he parked in the farthest parking spot on purpose and walked slowly up to the office, the business card still burning a hole in his pocket. Many of the offices were just starting to open when he walked in and for the elevators.

The doctor was on the third floor and Gibbs was sure he was in the slowest elevator ever made. The elevator finally dinged and the doors stuttered open. Gibbs walked out and looked down at the card and then up to the sign that told him with suite numbers were down which hallway. He walked down the hallway to his left and of course the office was at the very end of the hall on his right. He walked into the waiting room and up to the front desk.

"Can I help you?" The nurse asked sweetly.

"Donating for Abby Sciuto." Gibbs answered quickly, not even believing those words had actually come out of his mouth.

"Oh, um, fill this out while I get the room ready." She said awkwardly, handing him a clip board with three papers and a pen.

He grabbed the clipboard and started scribbling his information as he walked to the nearest seat in the waiting room. He ran through all the questions and the only thing that made him stop and think was his family history. It was a little tougher than the rest of them but he was able to scratch something together. When he was done he stood and handed the nurse the clip board back.

"Alright Mr. Gibbs, follow me." She said with a quick glance down at his papers.

Gibbs walked through the door next to the check in desk and followed the short blonde nurse through a labyrinth of hallways and doors before coming upon the end of it all. There was a window at the end of the hallway, letting in some much needed light into the dark hallway. The blonde nurse set one if his pieces of paper in see through bin and pointed to the door next to it. Gibbs walked in and was faced with a regular doctors room.

There was an examination table, a counter with a sink, a rolling stool, a chair and a small metal table that looked like it belonged in an operation room instead of a doctor's office, and sitting on top of the table was a plastic specimen jar, just a little bigger than a pee-cup.

The nurse walked around him and picked up the cup and wrote his name, and a few other things on the jar then handed it to him. "Fill this as much as you can, leave it on the table and come tell us when you're done and we'll call you if we need anything else." She said smiling then left the room.

Gibbs stared down at the seemingly innocent, empty, cup with a hate so great you would think the cup had itself committed murder. He couldn't believe how far he was actually going for Abby. Then again, he really could believe. Abby would do anything for him. Abby would never think twice, she would do whatever she could. He took a deep breath and sat on the edge of the exam table and looked at the cup wearily.

He had gotten this far without his phone ringing or anything stopping him and no matter how long he waited he knew nothing was going to stop him. With another deep breath he twisted the lid off the top of the cup and set them to the side and prepared himself for something he never thought he would ever do.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Half an hour later Gibbs walked out of the room feeling a little like he had just been violated. He walked back to the desk, where the blonde nurse sat. He was about to get her attention when a dark doctor with horn-rimmed glasses walked up to.

"I haven't seen you before, do you know one of my patients?" He asked confused. Gibbs guessed he was Dr. Vogel.

"Abby Sciuto." Gibbs answered quietly.

"I hope I have a sample." Dr. Vogel said smiling.

Gibbs had to repress a shudder. "You do." He answered tensely.

"Good, tell Abby I'll call her as soon as I have the results." Dr. Vogel said patting Gibbs' shoulder.

Gibbs only nodded as the doctor passed. He knocked on the desk once and the nurse looked up at him. "Finished?" She asked sweetly.

"Yeah," He ground out.

"Thank you," She said cheerfully.

"Mmhm," He mumbled then left the doctors office as calmly as he could.

He was in the elevator when his cell phone rang, which was a bit of irony since normally he can count of elevators being void of any kind of cell phone coverage.

"Gibbs," He answered automatically, not even checking his caller ID to see who it was.

"Hey Boss, Vance is ordering us to an apartment complex in Arlington." Tony was on edge and sounded a little frightened. Gibbs really didn't care.

"Alright, meet you there." He said impatiently and hung up quickly.

He got to his car quickly with long strides and slipped into the driver's seat and clutched the steering wheel as soon as the door was closed.

He calmed himself and grabbed his cell phone and called Vance to ask him where his team had been sent and his secretary gave him the address. Gibbs started speeding toward the upscale apartment complex as soon as he heard the street name and hung up shortly after.

It was about half an hour from where he was is he obeyed traffic laws and speed limit signs. He wondered if he could make it in fifteen minutes.

A smile curled his lips and he revved his engine. A speeding challenge was just what he needed to tae his mind off of Abby, that doctor's office, pee-cups, 'snipers', 'donations' and 'samples'. With a mental note to tell Abby he had swung by the doctors office, he sped toward he newest crime scene, blowing through three stop signs before forty-five seconds passed.

AN: Review! And yes, I used 'snipers' instead of 'swimmers'. These are potential Baby Gibbs' we're dealing with. :P


	5. Final Answer

AN: QUICKIE! :D I know, its not all that big, but its a filler chapter! Next chapter will be the procedure and then, the fun begins. I hope you all enjoy. :D

Chapter Five

Final Answer

Abby was sure she never hugged Gibbs as tightly as she did when he told her he had gone to the doctors office. She had been panicking all weekend that he wouldn't and that she had asked too much of him this time, but, as always, he was her Superman and came through. The rest of the week went by smoothly and Abby had a hell of a time fudging-up answers for Evy about who her mystery donor was. She finally accepted Abby's plea that he was a good man and that he didn't want to be known in the process.

On her drive into work Friday morning, the day before her procedure, she got a call from the doctor's office. She pulled onto a side street and parked and answered her cell phone wearily.

"Abby speaking," She answered, hoping her voice wasn't as shaky as she felt.

"Hello Ms. Sciuto, its Dr. Vogel, I just wanted to let you know that the sample Mr. Gibbs gave came back clean." Dr. Vogel said happily.

Abby felt like a weight had been lifted off her lungs and she finally breathed relieved. "Do you need more if I choose to use his sperm tomorrow?" She asked panicking somewhat. She really hoped she wouldn't have to ask Gibbs to donate more 'snipers'.

"No, what we have should be fine." Dr. Vogel answered confidently.

Abby sighed thankfully. "Okay, I'll see you tomorrow Doc." She said bouncing a little.

"Have a good day." Dr. Vogel said before hanging up.

Abby snapped her phone closed with a bright smile and started driving for the Navy Yard once more. "Oh I will." She said to herself, grinning broadly.

Abby drove through morning traffic with a smile and didn't even care that the new security guy at the front gate didn't believe she worked there and let him call the Director himself, only to apologize profusely and let her in ten minutes later. Most of the garage was full as always and found a spot on the floor Gibbs always parked on. As she was walking to the elevator, Gibbs walked up to her.

"Hey Gibbs," She said happily.

"Morning Abs," He said back with a hint of a smile and took a sip of his ever present coffee. "Doctor call?" He asked curiously.

"How did you know?" She asked in shock.

He shrugged. "You are more relaxed." He said knowingly. The elevator doors opened and Abby and Gibbs stepped in. He pressed the button to the main floor and they started moving quickly.

"Yes, he did. And your snipers are up to par." She said jokingly.

Gibbs sniggered under his breath as he shook his head. "When are you going in tomorrow?" He asked looking down at his coffee as he asked.

"One o'clock. I'll be there until two then its straight home for bed rest." She answered, motioning her hands speedily.

Gibbs looked up at her worryingly.

"Its not evasive or anything, they just don't want me jumping around for a few days." She said reassuringly.

Gibbs seemed to accept that answer. "Anyone going with you?" He asked as the elevator doors opened onto the main lobby.

"Evy," She said as they walked up to security.

They went through the security check point separately and normally they would go they're different ways from there but Abby followed Gibbs up to the bull pen.

"The girl that's replacing you?" He asked flippantly as they walked out of the elevator. Abby noticed none of the rest of the team was in yet so she continued her conversation with Gibbs.

"She isn't replacing me Gibbs. She is filling in for me while I'm on maternity leave." She corrected.

"That girl?" He asked again.

"Yes," She sung. "She is trust worthy Gibbs." She said knowingly.

Gibbs didn't say anything as he sat at his desk and logged onto his computer. Abby shook her head as she walked away from him and to the back elevator.

It was a slow day and Abby had time to catch up on paperwork like the rest of Gibbs' team. Since she was cutting down on her caffeine in preparation to get pregnant she didn't get as much done as she normally would have, but she still did twice as much as Ziva and three times as much as Tony. She was closing up shop for the day when Gibbs came walking in and silently handed her a piece of paper.

"What's this?" She asked confused. She was pretty sure they didn't have a case today.

"Permission form," He answered quietly.

Abby was still confused as she looked back down at the paper and found the words 'sperm' and 'donor' immediately. "To…" She trailed off gasping.

"Use my snipers." He finished.

Abby looked at him in shock for a moment before she flung her arms around Gibbs hugging him with all her might. She felt him hug her back with just as much force and even lifted her of the ground a little.

"I owe you big time Gibbs." She mumbled against his hair.

"I think we're even Abs." He whispered, pressing a light kiss to the shell of her ear.

When Abby felt the hug was sufficient she let go of him and took a step back. "I promise I won't tell anyone." She said as she held the paper close to her chest.

"Don't worry about that Abby." He said as he fixed her pigtails.

"You don't want anyone to know, right?" She asked confused. She figured as much.

"Yeah, but do you really think that's gonna stop DiNozzo?" He asked almost laughingly.

Abby thought for a spilt second and there was no denying the logic of Gibbs. "No," She said giggling a little as she thought about how much trouble he would be in for snooping in her private medical files. She was already planning on how to get him back…

"You're going to be a great mom." Gibbs said suddenly, shaking her out of her day dreams of flesh eating acid and Crazy glue.

She hugged Gibbs again as she fought back tears. "Thanks Gibbs," She said hoarsely.

Abby left the Navy Yard happier than she had been in a long time. She didn't stop smiling until her cheeks screamed in pain and she bit her lips to try and stop smiling. She got back to her apartment with the sudden urge to start moving things. Just before she was about to move her couch and her coffin there was a knock on the door and Abby already knew who it was.

When Abby swung the door open Evy was standing in front of her holding a large bag. "Are you sure you're not pregnant already, because you're glowing." Evy said as she eyed Abby suspiciously.

"He said yes." Abby blurted out.

"Mystery man?" Evy asked confused.

"Yes!" Abby cheered.

"That's great!" Evy cried out, wrapping her arms around Abby for a quick hug. "He is good looking right, cause there is no point in having a smart child without looks." She asked as she pulled away with an entirely serious tone.

"Yes, he is." Abby said rolling her eyes.

"Good," Evy said with a nod and walked passed Abby and into the apartment.

"Where's Tristan?" Abby asked confused, looking around for her little nephew.

"At a friend's house for the weekend, I thought we could have a girl's weekend while you're stuck in bed." Evy said with a sneaky grin.

Abby smiled brightly and shut the door and bounced into the living room. "Sounds good." She said happily. "So, movie?" She asked pointing to her DVD collection.

"I brought booze," Evy said pulling a bottle of Margarita mix from her bag.

"I can't have that tonight!" Abby cried seriously.

"Oh fine, I'll make them virgin." Evy said rolling her eyes.

Abby was able to get through Sin City without worrying about the next day until they started watching Baby Mama. A nervous knot formed in her stomach and any thoughts of sleeping fled her mind. Evy passed out around one in the morning during a screening of Pirates of the Caribbean and Abby didn't put another movie in. She stayed up, listening to world outside, hoping and praying everything would go well and she would be a mother soon.

AN: Review!


	6. Here Goes Everything

AN: HELLO! Here is the long awaited chapter. No, Gibbs does not barge into the doctors office and do it the fun way. There is however some Gabby at the end, so I hope that makes up for him not being in the rest of the chapter. Enjoy and thank you for all the support and reviews, you guys are wonderful! :D

Chapter Six

Here Goes Everything

Abby woke up at six in the morning after conking out at four in the morning. She started buzzing around her apartment, double checking everything as she got ready for that afternoon, guzzling down water because they didn't want her eating to much before the procedure, but she was too nervous to eat anyway. Evy woke up at eight with a bit of a panicked look about her. She called Tristan as soon as she had her phone in her hand and talked to him for about two minutes before she calmed down. She drew out the conversation as long as she could before Tristan rushed her off the phone and went back to playing video games.

"You think after eight years you start to worry less, but you don't." Evy sighed shaking her head as she placed her phone on the counter and walked up to Abby in the kitchen. "Ready?" She asked Abby with and excited smile.

"I'm gonna be pregnant." Abby said as she leaned against the kitchen sink.

"Yup," Evy said with a nod.

"I'm gonna be a mom." Abby murmured fearfully.

"Yup," Evy repeated, her tone much the same.

"I'm gonna be okay, right?" Abby asked desperately.

"You'll be fine." Evy said surely.

"You're right. I will be. Everything will be fine." Abby said manically and started walking for the front door.

"Where are you going?" Evy asked with a raised brow. Abby spun on her heels to look at Evy confused. "We still have four hours before we even leave the house." She pointed out.

"Right," Abby muttered, walking back to the living room.

"I'm gonna shower, will you be okay for ten minutes?" Evy asked suspiciously.

Abby rolled her eyes. "Yes," She said annoyingly as she got up and bounced over to her computer. "I'll be shopping at Ikea." She said cheerfully.

"Look at their cribs, they're adorable." Evy cooed then disappeared into Abby's bedroom.

Abby spent ten minutes staring at the main page for Ikea feeling like she had been pulled into an alternate universe. She, Abigail Sciuto, was shopping for baby things. She had never pictured having children for most of her life and now she was going to get pregnant.

Sure, she would have liked to have a baby the old fashioned way, with a guy in a bed, or at least somewhere romantic. But she knew the time was right for her to have a baby and that's what she wanted, a baby. She didn't feel like she needed a man to go along with that. Her brother was a little peeved that she didn't even have a boyfriend but she chewed him out and he let the subject go and started suggesting she name the baby after him if it was a boy.

She felt a little depressed that she didn't have her mom or her dad with her so they could be a part of their grandchild's life but she had accepted that fact long ago when her parents died just before she finished college. But that's why she had Evy and she knew once she told Tony, Ziva, McGee and Ducky she would have a large support system for her and her baby.

And Gibbs.

She already knew that Gibbs would be there for her. There was never a time when he wasn't. But she wasn't entirely sure if he would be there for the baby.

Sure, it would be half his, but she had no idea how he would react to that or how the baby would be treated. Gibbs would always shut himself down whenever there was anything to do with Kelly, his first child.

"Why on earth did you schedule this so late in the day?" Evy demanded as she walked out of Abby's room, drying off her hair, shaking Abby from her ravine.

"It was the only time they had for today." Abby mumbled as she turned in her computer chair to face Evy.

"What are we going to do?" Evy asked with a bored voice.

Abby thought about her options for a moment then stood suddenly and looked at Evy hopefully. "Help me move my room around to fit a crib and changing table?" She asked pleadingly as she walked up to Evy.

Evy nodded and looked back into Abby's room with a bit of a worried look on her pretty face. "What are you going to do with your coffin?" She asked painfully.

"I'm keeping it, but I doubt I'll be using it when I'm the size of a horse." Abby said knowingly with a shrug. "I think I'll get a storage unit and keep the stuff I won't be using for a while and stick it in there." She added with a thoughtful look. She had been thinking about it for a while but she couldn't bring herself to say it out loud until now. She really didn't want to move anything, but she needed the space for the baby and she wanted the baby more than she wanted her coffin.

"Wanna do that?" Evy asked with a little excitement in her voice, more so to keep Abby's mind busy for the next few hours. "I've got a truck." Evy said pointing out the covered window in Abby's window where her Mazda pickup was waiting for her.

Abby smiled brightly. "Sounds like a plan." She said confidently and started choosing which pieces of furniture were to be packed away.

Abby and Evy spent hours moving Abby's extra furniture that she had more for décor than for anything useful into a newly rented storage unit that she would spilt with Evy since they both had a lot of junk to store. Abby started having panic attacks when she noticed how many pointy objects she had in her home, not to mention how many she wore on her neck. Evy pointed out that the baby wouldn't be able to crawl on the walls and that her studded collars were fine, the two inch spikes, were not so fine. Abby put them away for later use.

"I think we can head to the doctors office now." Evy said with a loud sigh as they trudged back up to Abby's apartment once they had cleared off as much as they could.

Abby nodded in agreement. "Yeah," She murmured.

Abby changed into her most comfortable pajama's and grabbed the bag she had packed weeks ago and they left the apartment silently and went back down stairs to Evy's gray truck.

"You know, your going to have to get another car." Evy said as they passed Abby's 1935 Ford hot rod.

"I know," Abby frowned.

"What are you thinking about?" Evy asked as they got back into her truck.

"I dunno, no sedans!" Abby yelled surely.

"Okay," Evy said defensively as she started driving toward the doctor's office.

"Maybe a Charger like NCIS has. I like them." Abby said absently.

"But red." Evy pointed out with a haphazard nod to Abby's red hot rod.

"Of course!" Abby cheered happily, making Evy laugh.

The drive to the doctors office was quiet. Evy didn't attempt to start a conversation and Abby knew if she opened her mouth she wouldn't be able to shut it for a long time. Her tendency to babble when she was nervous always got the better of her. Evy parked as close to the building as possible and sat for a moment before looking to Abby.

"Ready?" Evy asked with a kind smile.

Abby nodded weakly. "I think so," She said quietly.

The walk from the truck to the building was a blur. Well, everything from the truck to the exam room was a blur. Abby had been thrown into a trance because it was all coming true. She was really going to be a mom. There was no more planning. No more shots. No more drugs. This was it. Her big moment.

She didn't have to wait in the waiting room because there was a nurse waiting with her file and a big smile. Abby let herself be guided through the back to an exam room right next to the actual room they would be doin the procedure in. The nurse left her with instructions to strip down and put the gown on, like always, and Abby did. Not three minutes later Dr. Vogel came into the room.

"Hello Abby," Dr. Vogel said with a wide smile.

"Hi, Dr. Vogel." Abby chirped nervously. She felt Evy rest her hand on her shoulder and squeeze tightly.

"Everything is ready, the procedure won't take very long, but there are a few forms you need to sign." He said handing her his clipboard.

"Okay," Abby said as she took the pen from him.

Abby signed everything Dr. Vogel told her to, but didn't listen to any of his explanations about anything. She already knew the ins and outs of the procedure and she was too nervous to pay much attention to anything.

"You won't be medicated with any pain medication during the procedure and it will be a little uncomfortable. You may be a little sore as well, but it will go away within a day or two." Dr. Vogel explained sympathetically but Abby just nodded blankly. She already knew that too.

"Can Evy come back with me?" Abby asked reaching up to take Evy's hand in her own.

Dr. Vogel nodded. "That shouldn't be a problem. We'll get her some scrubs." He said taking the clipboard from Abby and walking toward the door.

"Thank you," Abby said with a sigh of relief.

Evy started massaging Abby's shoulders after Dr. Vogel left the room and they sat in silence for a few minutes before Evy filled it.

"Relax, everything's going to be fine, you're just going to get violated by a really high-tech, ridiculously expensive turkey baster." Evy said humorously, trying to lighten Abby's panicked mood.

Abby sighed. "I know," She whispered.

"Just imagine it being done the fun way and it'll be over before you know it." Evy said enthusiastically.

Abby closed her eyes and started to imagine it. Her bed covered in black silk linens, two naked tangled bodies having a roaring time. There was a flash of gray hair in her vision and Abby's eyes snapped open widely.

"What?" Evy asked confused.

"Nothing," Abby squeaked.

Evy knew that it wasn't nothing and was about to investigate further when a nurse came in with scrubs for Evy to put over her clothes and a robe for Abby.

"We're ready for you now." The nurse said sweetly.

Abby nodded numbly and slipped the robe on and followed the nurse to the next room with Evy close behind her while she put her scrubs on. Inside the procedure room Dr. Vogel was waiting dressed in his own scrubs with a smile on his face. He patted on the bed and Abby hopped on the table and put her feet in the stirrups. Her gown was pushed up to her thighs by the good doctor and he settled on his stool in between her legs.

"The lubricant is a little cold." Dr. Vogel warned.

Abby could feel the thin probe inserted into her cervix and for some reason she felt a surge of joy. She knew it wasn't from the odd feeling of the probe, but rather that she was so close to being pregnant. All of her hard work was paying off.

"Injecting the sperm now." Dr. Vogel said somewhat distracted. She hoped he was more concerned with the procedure than the play-by-play details.

Abby forced herself to think of what the sperm would look like as they traveled through the probe and into her cervix and not what it may have been like to have made her dream baby with Gibbs 'the old fashioned' way.

She felt the probe slip out of her and she craned her head up to look at Dr. Vogel who was smiling up at her. "All finished." He said happily.

"That was easy." Abby said relieved.

"No where near as fun as it usually is, but a lot less messy I think." He said with a wink.

Abby smiled widely at him and almost started crying she was so happy.

"I'd like you to stay here for at least half an hour, just in case something happens." He added seriously.

"I can do that." She said with a nod.

"Great," He smiled. He started taking off the gear he had on his head as well as the gloves and smock. "Caroline will check up on you in half an hour and if everything is alright she'll give you some instructions for the next few days." He said pointing to the nurse next to him and she smiled pleasantly at Abby.

Abby couldn't contain herself as her arms launched out for Dr. Vogel and hugged him tightly. "Thank you Dr. Vogel." She gushed, holding him as tight as her arms would allow.

Dr. Vogel laughed quietly and hugged her back gently. "My pleasure Abby," He said happily. Abby finally let him go and he walked out of the room with a smile on his face and Caroline on his tail.

"Now that this is almost over, am I allowed to hit on him now?" Evy asked hopefully.

Abby turned and looked at Evy with a stern face. "No," She said firmly. Evy rolled her eyes and stuck out her tongue childishly and flopped back into the seat in the corner.

They were silent for the next thirty minutes. Evy had started reading the book she brought and Abby did the same. She was much calmer than she had been all day, it was almost eerie. Nurse Caroline came back once Abby's thirty minutes were up and let her leave without qualms. She also told her to stay off her feet for two or three days and to avoid lifting heavy objects as well as stressful environments.

Abby shuffled out of the doctor's office in her pajamas and her slippers, feeling a little sore but absolutely beaming. She didn't walk faster than an old granny down to the car and Evy almost lost her patience, telling her walking wouldn't help or prevent her from getting pregnant. Abby launched into a calm argument telling her any jarring movements could be harmful.

Half an hour later they were back at Abby's apartment, struggling for a parking spot. Abby took her time on the stairs and let Evy go ahead of her with the keys to set up the couch so they could laze around and watch movies until Evy had to pick up Tristan.

They were half way through their first movie and minutes away from starting dinner when there was a knock on the door. Abby looked to Evy and batted her lashes.

"Fine," Evy grumbled, hauling herself off the couch and stomping toward the door.

Abby could hear the door open roughly over the movie and heard Gibbs' voice just as the distinct smell of sawdust seeped through her home.

"Abby here?" Her silver-haired fox asked gruffly. There was some movement and Gibbs came walking into her line of sight.

"Gibbs!" She called out happily holding her arms out, waiting for a hug. Gibbs chuckled and sat down on the coffee table in front of her and pulled her into a tight hug.

"Everything go okay?" Gibbs asked while he continued to hug Abby.

Abby nodded and pulled away from him. "Yup, it went great!" She cheered, smiling so wide her face was spilt in two.

He smiled a little more at that. "Good, how 'bout on your end?" He added with a hint of worry.

Abby almost rolled her eyes at his worry but he was being to sweet. "Gibbs, I just told you, it went great." She repeated smiling.

"How're you feeling?" He asked seriously.

"Impatient," She answered bouncing a little.

He chuckled under his breath. "That's my Abby," He said proudly.

"I don't know how long I'll be able to keep it from the others." Abby said sadly with a pout on her full lips.

Gibbs sighed and tucked some of her loose hair behind her ear. "You better find a plausible cover story or Ziva will start digging with Tony and McGee and they'll know everything by Wednesday." He said jokingly.

"This is what I get for being friends with government agents." She said snickering.

"Just let me know if they start bothering you." He said firmly, rubbing her shoulder.

"Don't do anything too mean." She said pleadingly. She wasn't entirely keen on her friends getting nosy, but she didn't want them to suffer either.

"It all depends on how nosy they get." He said with a wink.

"Tony's gonna be back on the Ronald Regan isn't he?" She asked cocking her head to the side.

"For a few weeks." He said with a casual shrug.

Abby laughed freely and wrapped her arms around Gibbs for another hug. "Thanks Gibbs," she murmured happily.

"No problem Abbs," He whispered patting her back. They both pulled away and Gibbs stood and walked toward the front door. "See you on Monday," He said over his shoulder.

"Bye!" She called out as he disappeared into her front hall.

Abby heard the front door shut and Evy as she locked all the doors. "He's a strange one." Evy said shaking her head as she sat back down next to Abby.

"Nope, that's just Gibbs." Abby countered knowingly.

As she sat on her favorite couch, only half listening to Sweeny Todd, Abby had absently started rubbing her still flat stomach. A smile unfurled on her lips and she wrapped her arms tightly around her middle. Sure she wouldn't know anything definitive for the next two weeks, but something in her gut told her she already knew the answer…

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	7. Never Normal Again

AN: Big chapter for a long wait! Lots of Gibbs, not entirely, but a lot. The next chapter is going to be the pregnancy test, I don't know if I should include Evy in it or just have Abby do it on her own. Leave any opinion, I love them either way. Thanks for all the support so far, I love you guys!

Chapter Seven

Never Normal Again

Monday morning came and Abby didn't feel any different other than her entire being was pulsing with happiness. No one asked her any prying questions and even Ziva appeared to be oblivious. Of course Abby wasn't going to bank on whether Ziva stayed ignorant so she tried not to act any differently than normal which was proving to be a hard task with her caffeine withdrawals.

Gibbs had given her a Caf-Pow! when she called him with information from a new victims laptop and she pointed out sadly that she couldn't drink caffeine until she knew for sure she was or wasn't pregnant. Gibbs just smiled and told her it was Diet Caffeine Free Orange Soda. She almost kissed Gibbs.

Tuesday had a little more excitement. Ziva was talking casually to a suspect in the elevator while trying not to give away that they knew he had committed murder. He already made Ziva when they got off the elevator and tried to escape into autopsy where Gibbs was waiting with Ducky. Abby heard him screaming his head off over her music.

After Tuesday her life became much more boring. There were no major cases for her or Gibbs team. She resorted to researching more about pregnancy to fill her empty schedule on Thursday. She wasn't expecting to have McGee sneak up on her.

"Abby, why are you researching pregnancy symptoms?" McGee asked from over her shoulder, entirely too worried.

Abby snapped to face McGee and looked at him with a glare. "McGee, what did I say about sneaking without a permit?" She asked lowly.

"Sorry," He muttered, ashamed.

"For your information my friend Evy was telling me stories about how she used to get nose bleeds when she was pregnant, I didn't really believe it was actually a symptom of being pregnant so I looked it up. Turns out it is…" Abby explained with a frown. She was really hoping Evy was kidding about that.

"Really?" McGee asked surprised.

"Yeah, weird huh?" She said scrolling back through the web-page.

McGee nodded. He started to read the page over Abby's shoulder but was stopped when Abby suddenly spun on her stool to look at him.

"Where did you get your bed?" She asked sweetly.

"What do you mean?" He asked suspiciously. He wasn't sure he liked were the conversation was going.

"Where did you buy it?" She simplified, rolling her eyes at him.

McGee continued to eye her wearily. "A store down in Alexandria, why?" He answered quietly.

"I like yours. I want to buy one like it." She said casually.

"What about you're coffin?" He asked flabbergasted.

"I still have it." Abby said resisting the urge to Gibbs-slap McGee.

"But you're replacing it." He clarified, still stunned.

"McGee why do you sound so shocked?" She asked almost annoyed.

"It's your coffin. You love it more than anything else you own." He pointed out, stammering a little as he tried to fathom what was happening.

"There comes a time in everyone's life when we have to give our back a rest." She explained knowingly.

McGee stared at her for a long moment before he started typing on the keyboard in front of her. "I'll get you the address." He mumbled, still confused.

"Thank you," She said triumphantly and skipped around McGee, waiting for him to find the mattress store.

It only took McGee five minutes to find the store and the address. Like a gentleman he wrote down the address, the phone number and the times it was open for Abby, even though she could have done it on her own. He finished and was about to tell Abby the make and model of the mattress when Gibbs slipped into the lab.

"McGee!" He called out annoyed.

"Yes Boss?" McGee asked turning to face Gibbs quickly.

"Get upstairs, we got a call." Gibbs said nodding toward the elevator.

"Sure thing Boss," McGee said automatically and handed Abby the slip of paper before he disappeared to the elevators.

Gibbs made sure the elevator had started moving up before he walked up to Abby. "He getting nosy?" He asked quietly.

"No, he was actually being helpful." She said waving the slip of paper.

"Okay," He said with a nod then started walking out of the lab.

Before he could make it out of the doorway Abby remembered that she had something she needed Gibbs' help with. "Gibbs!" She called out, skipping up to him.

He turned slowly back to look at her, his eyes looking tired around the edges. "Yeah Abby?" He asked softly.

"What are you doing this weekend?" She asked twirling her pigtails, looking at him with wide hopeful eyes.

He chuckled. "What do you think?" He asked dryly.

"Well, I'm getting a new bed and the bed frame I got is really tricky…" She trailed off looking at Gibbs with her patented puppy-dog-eyes.

"Saturday?" He asked casually.

"Saturday." She agreed smiling brightly.

He gave a short nod and turned and left the lab. Abby bounced over to her desk to finish her paperwork easily, knowing she would have something to stick her bed in.

For the rest of the week there were barely any cases. The few they did have practically solved themselves. Abby could tell Gibbs was getting bored because he was spending more time in the elevators. Tony was having hourly spit-ball fights. Ziva almost tried to staple Tony to death. McGee, of course, worked on his latest book.

When Friday turned out to be dead, Gibbs let them all go home early. Abby called Evy as soon as she was in her car and told her to meet her at the mattress store McGee had given her the address to. Twenty minutes later Abby was parking next to Evy's truck in front of the mattress store and met up with Evy and Tristan next to the water beds.

"What about this one?" Tristan asked as he bounced from one bed, to the one across from it, all while staying on his butt.

"That's not like McGee's bed." Abby said shaking her head. Tristan was far from offended and went back to bouncing around beds.

"Did you really have a thing with a guy named McGee?" Evy asked with a sour face.

Abby narrowed her eyes on Evy. "His name is Timothy McGee." She corrected.

"That does not help his case, at all." Evy said flatly.

Before Abby and Evy could get into a debate about the sexiness of names Tristan's head popped up as he waved his arms around to get Abby and Evy's attention. "What about this one Abby?!" He called out with a proud look.

Abby skipped over to the bed Tristan was on and examined it closely. "Close, but the quilting wasn't so tight." She said cautiously, she didn't want to hurt the boy's feelings. Tristan, however, still didn't care and had already bounded to another bed for inspection.

They spent the next hour searching the store before Abby finally found what she was looking for, tucked away in a corner of the store looking seemingly unattractive. But Abby knew better. She bounced up to it and laid on it to make sure it was the right bed.

"Yes!" She cried happily. A sales man rushed up to her with a huge smile. "Can I get this, queen size with the box spring?" She asked politely.

"Sure thing." He said exuberant. "Delivery?" He asked hopefully. Abby knew there was a charge to have it delivered but she knew she shouldn't be lifting much for the next week or so and Evy wasn't going to do it on her own.

"Why not." Abby said with a shrug.

The sales man had a little skip in his step as he walked back to the counter to ring up Abby's purchase. Abby was following slower and Evy came walking up to her.

"Hey, I need to get Tristan back home, big test to study for." Evy said nodding toward her truck.

Abby fought back a frown. "Alright, I'll call you later." She said with a twitch of a smile.

"Yup," Evy said with a sigh.

Abby waved as Tristan and Evy left the mattress store and got into their truck.

"Ma'am, we're ready when you are." The short sales man said happily.

Abby paid for her new bed and gave the truck driver her address. She left with them and they followed her back to her apartment. The two twenty-something men easily carried her bed up to her second story and put them exactly where she wanted them and even commented on the axe she had hanging on the wall. The cute one was more interested in the collar she was wearing.

Since it was only Friday night and Gibbs wouldn't be coming until the next day and her coffin was in storage so she was stuck on the couch. She didn't mind so much since the whole reason she bought the specific couch was because it was comfortable to sleep on. And black.

It was one in the morning when Abby was finally able to sleep after a movie marathon. She wasn't as rested as she would have been in her coffin but it was good enough for her. It would have been better if she wasn't woken up at seven-thirty in the morning by the sound of hammering.

She nearly fell off the couch in surprise. It was still cold and the windows were all covered making it colder so Abby bundled deep into her comforter and shuffled toward the sound of the hammering, which was coming from her room. She peaked into her room carefully and saw Gibbs crouched in front of two pieces of her new bed frame. She admired the view of Gibbs' 'hind quarters' for a few moments before she got down to business.

"Gibbs?" Abby asked confused.

"Abbs," Gibbs said with a quick glance over his shoulder.

"What are you doing here so early?" She asked while she yawned.

"You asked me to come." He stated obviously.

"Well, yeah, but I thought you would, you know, knock." She said dryly.

"I did, you didn't answer. I used the key you hid in the planter." He said with a shrug.

"You're too sneaky for your own good." She said with narrowed eyes.

Gibbs chuckled and went back to hammering the espresso colored bed frame. Abby sighed and watched him work easily on the bed frame and was disappointed that she couldn't help him. Dr. Vogel would not be happy if he knew she was helping someone build a heavy, wooden bed frame and she was sure Gibbs wouldn't even let her help but she still needed to do something for Gibbs. He was after all building her bed for her.

"Since you're here so early, I'll make you breakfast, what would you like?" Abby asked happily. She had never made Gibbs breakfast before and she was eager to show him her skills with eggs.

"Nothin'," Gibbs mumbled, adjusting the wood.

"Gibbs, come on, this is for building me my bed." She cried indignantly.

Gibbs turned and looked at Abby with a raised brown and then shrugged before going back to working on the bed frame.

"Fine, I'll make it a surprise." She huffed as she walked out of her room.

Abby made waffles, scrambled eggs and bacon. Lots of bacon. She knew Gibbs was the manly man sort and real men love bacon. And she wanted bacon as well. What her vegetarian brother didn't know, wouldn't hurt him. The hammering from her room stopped as soon as she started frying the bacon.

Gibbs came out a few seconds later with his hammer hanging from his pocket. He took a seat at the small dining room table Abby had and started serving himself eggs, waffles and bacon. Abby giggled under her breath and brought the rest of the bacon to the table and sat next to Gibbs.

"Is it good?" Abby asked with a grin.

Gibbs nodded while he chewed his waffles.

"Thanks again Gibbs, I don't think anyone else would have been able to help me and I can't asked Evy for anymore help." Abby sighed thankfully before she tore into her bacon.

"She been helping you a lot?" Gibbs asked as he looked down at his eggs.

"Yep, she helped me get everything into storage and not to mention all the stuff she helped me with the IUI." She said, starting to feel a little bit of guilt as she thought of everything Evy was helping her with. She'd have to do something nice for her later.

"Think she'll be good when you're gone?" He asked curiously.

"I'm not going anywhere Gibbs! I'm just taking off the mandatory two months!" She exclaimed frustrated. She didn't want Gibbs to think she was leaving him. Gibbs eyebrow rose at her cry. "But yes, she will be spectacular while I am absent." She answered surely.

"She doesn't listen to that stuff you do, does she?" He asked grumbling.

"Not all of it." She said sheepishly. Gibbs let out a heavy sigh. "Be sure to smack Tony and McGee if they try to flirt with her." Abby said trying to change the subject.

Her request brought a smile to Gibbs' face. "That I'll do." He said grinning.

After breakfast Gibbs went back to making the bed while Abby cleaned up and made coffee. She hadn't found any kind of coffee around or even near him so she knew she would have to get him some caffeine before the world came to an end.

Gibbs and all his carpentry skills had the bed done by ten-forty five, with the box spring and mattress all in and waiting for linens.

Abby squealed when she saw the finished product and hugged Gibbs instantly. "Thanks Gibbs, it's perfect!" She cried out bouncing a little.

"If you want it moved ask DiNozzo, I think he can manage that." Gibbs said as he picked up his tools from the floor.

"No need, it's perfect where it is." She cheered, leaning over to kiss Gibbs' cheek. He chuckled a little under his breath. "Wanna stay for lunch?" She asked hopefully.

"Can't, meeting with Vance." He answered.

Abby frowned for a second before she shrugged. "Okay, I'll see you Monday."

He pulled her into a hug with one arm and buried his fingers into her hair and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Yep," He said quietly then let her go and walked out of the apartment on his own.

Even though Gibbs had just left in his normal brusque manner, it was still the first time in a long time that he had hugged and kissed her, albeit on her forehead but it was still a kiss. She always felt better after Gibbs laid on a hug-kiss combo. Cause she was always safe with him and his hugs just reinforced it.

She skipped back into her bedroom and started putting the linens on her bed and happily noticed that Gibbs had cleaned up after himself. He had to be the only man that did that willingly. And coupled with everything that Gibbs already was, it made him perfect to her.

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	8. The Stick With All The Answers

AN: Well, hello! I'm so happy to finish this chapter because now I can really get into pregnant Abby! :D I'm also happy because I got one of my old friends from my childhood addicted to this! HA! Enjoy everyone and thank you all for reading and reviewing!

Chapter Eight

The Stick With All The Answers

Abby thought the first week of waiting was bad, but the second week was worse. She had to reschedule her OB appointment because of a court date to three days after the two week mark. The doctor told her she could take an at-home pregnancy test and would damn near as accurate. She wanted to test it in her lab with all of her equipment that she knew would churn out a completely accurate answer, but she didn't want to risk being caught. The court date was set back another three weeks and Abby went home early.

The Friday she was supposed to go to the doctors after work, Abby went to the near by pharmacy and bought ten pregnancy tests. The cashier gave her a funny look and Abby told her it was for accuracy. From the pharmacy she rushed to her apartment and started chugging water. Since she already had to use the bathroom when she got home she took three tests with her.

Half an hour later and almost two gallons of water Abby had taken all of the tests. She laid them out in front of her on her bathroom counter, face down. She was trying to ready herself for good or bad news. She was praying it was all good.

She sealed her eyes tightly and started flipping the tests right-side-up. When she got to the last one she took in a deep breath and held it, then opened her eyes. She scanned all of the pregnancy tests and almost screamed.

They were all positive.

Every single test was positive. There was a ten-out-of-ten chance that she was pregnant.

She squealed loudly and started dancing and then she had to jump. No matter how much she jumped around, she still had to do it. "I'M PREGNANT!" She screamed.

She bounded out to her kitchen and snatched her cell phone up and started dialing Evy. She knew she was working, but she still had to tell someone. The phone rang until it got to her voicemail.

"Mommy can't answer, call back never!" Tristan's four-year-old self laughed and Abby had to smile.

After she heard the beep Abby started ranting. "EVY! They were all positive! Ten of them! I'm pregnant! Even if there was a stupid mix up with court! I'M PREGNANT!" She screamed and then hung up the phone.

Abby wanted to call everyone and tell them the good news but remembered sadly that she wasn't telling anyone other than Evy, her brother and Gibbs until she was out of her first trimester. She knew her brother was probably sleeping and since she had already left a voicemail with Evy and that only left Gibbs.

She was avoiding that however. As much as she was thankful for Gibbs she was also scared of how he might react. She wanted him to know, and he had every right to know, but she didn't want him running back to Mexico. Her mood was starting to sour just thinking about how negatively everyone in her life might react to her having a baby and she forced herself to think about anything else

"Shopping! That's it Abby. Shopping. Spending ridiculous amounts of money on cute baby things. That will make you stop thinking about depressing things that might not happen." She tried to tell herself rationally, ignoring the fact that she was talking to herself.

Abby grabbed her purse and ran out of the house. She drove to the nearest Target and rushed to the baby aisles. Her mind was still weighed down by all the thoughts of what could or couldn't happen. Being a scientist was not helping her now. She couldn't shake the thought of all the possibilities. No matter how many baby booties she looked at, or how many car seats she compared, her mind kept going back to all the good and bad probabilities.

"Abby?" A familiar Israeli accent asked confused behind her.

Abby spun in her platforms and saw Ziva standing at the end of the aisle. "Ziva!" She squealed.

"Why are you in the baby aisle?" Ziva asked, walking up to her.

"I have a pregnant friend, she's having a baby shower soon." Abby covered quickly. Ziva looked a slight bit suspicious but seemed to move past it quickly.

"Oh, what is she having?" Ziva asked curiously.

"It's a surprise." Abby said cheerfully.

"I do not like surprises." Ziva said flatly.

Abby looked at Ziva with knitted brows. "That's just you Ziva." She told her shaking her head.

"I suppose." Ziva said with nonchalant shrug. "May I help pick out the gift?" She asked with smiling excitedly.

"You're into baby stuff?" Abby asked taken back.

"What, because I am Mossad I do not think babies are cute?!" Ziva exclaimed frustrated.

Abby leaned far away from Ziva without stepping away. "No, you just don't really come off as the nurturing type." She mumbled fearfully.

"I coddle small children, not apes like Tony." Ziva said dangerously.

Abby nodded. "Sure thing Ziva."

The two women looked around the baby aisle silently for a minute or two before Abby's nerves got the best of her. "Can I ask you something?" She asked pleadingly.

"Of course," Ziva said confidently.

"If you had something, somewhat important, to tell Gibbs, that's personal I mean, would you do it immediately or wait until Monday?" Abby asked biting her lip nervously.

"Gibbs does not like to be kept in the dark about things." Ziva noted seriously.

"True, but it's the weekend." Abby pointed out, trying to find a way out of talking to Gibbs.

"All he does is drink and work on his boat." Ziva said confused.

"Exactly." Abby said.

Ziva looked at her blankly. "You are avoiding him." She stated.

"I am not!" Abby exclaimed.

"Abby," Ziva said pointedly.

"Okay, fine I am." Abby muttered deflated.

"What is so bad that you must avoid telling Gibbs?" Ziva asked quietly, looking around suspiciously.

"It's not bad, it's just something I know he needs to know, but I don't know if I should tell him right now." Abby explained gently.

"Are you leaving?" Ziva asked sadly.

"No! I'd never leave NCIS! I love you guys too much!" Abby cried out, wrapping her arms around Ziva for a quick hugs.

Ziva hugged her awkwardly for a moment before letting her go and taking a step away. "Okay, so what is it?" She asked impatiently.

"Uh, well, it's not really a sure thing at the moment, so I don't want _everyone_ to know until it's a certainty." Abby answered awkwardly.

"But since Gibbs needs to know everything, you are telling him now, yes?" Ziva asked almost rhetorically.

"Yeah," Abby nodded, looking at Ziva expectantly, waiting for her to pull for more information.

Ziva nodded. "I understand and I promise not to tell Tony or McGee anything." She said honestly.

Abby pulled her Israeli friend into a tight hug. "Ziva you're so awesome sometimes it almost makes me cry." She muttered against Ziva's flowing brown hair.

"Thank you Abby," Ziva chuckled, hugging Abby happily. Abby basked in the shorter woman's arms for a little while before she let go and took a small step away. "You should tell Gibbs." Ziva said seriously.

"I know," Abby sighed frowning deeply.

Ziva patted Abby's shoulder comfortingly. "Good lucky with the baby shower present." She said before leaving the aisle.

"Thanks," Abby muttered to herself.

Abby continued to stare at the baby booties for ten minutes before she gave up and stalked out of the store. There was no point, she was going to have to tell Gibbs today or she wasn't going to be able to sleep until she did. And last she checked sleep was very important to helping her fetus grow. She pulled out her cell phone a she reached her car and dialed Gibbs number.

It rang four times before he answered. "Yeah Abs?" Gibbs asked slightly confused.

"Is it okay if I come over?" She asked trying to make sure her voice didn't give too much away, or give him a reason to worry. The last thing she needed was a police escort to his house.

"Sure," He said curiously.

"I'll be there in twenty minutes." She said with a sigh of relief then hung up the phone, probably at the same time Gibbs did.

Abby knew how to get to Gibbs house in her sleep and could probably drive there with her eyes closed. Gibbs car was the only one in the driveway and he was sitting on his stoop with a glass jar of bourbon. Abby was relieved he was alone, it was bad enough that she was taking away from his weekend, interrupt him when he might actually be socializing.

Abby climbed out of her car and walked up to Gibbs slowly. "Hi Gibbs," She sighed, sitting down next to him, stretching her legs out in front of him.

"Hey Abby," He said with his boyish grin before taking a swig of his bourbon.

"Can we talk?" She asked hopefully, smoothing her skirt over the tops of her thighs.

"We already are." He pointed out smugly.

Abby sighed exasperated and looked at Gibbs with narrowed eyes.

Gibbs chuckled. "What's up Abby?" He asked earnestly.

"I'm not going back to the doctor until Monday, but I took some pregnancy tests." She said staring at the end of her skirt instead of Gibbs.

"Some?" He asked confused.

"Okay, well, ten, but I needed a high ratio-" She stopped when she looked to Gibbs and saw he was giving her his 'stop speaking lab-geek' look. "Right, well, like I said I took ten pregnancy tests and they all came out positive." She added cautiously.

The look that crossed Gibbs' face was one that could only be described as a mixture between conflicted and confused. "Congratulations." He said flatly.

Needless to say Abby wasn't thrilled with his reaction but he was still sitting next to her and his glass wasn't empty. He was, however, raising the jar to his lips. "Well, it's not entirely sure, but it's pretty definitive." She said surely. Gibbs downed the remainder of what he had in his jar and nodded. "I don't want to make the big announcement until I'm out of my first trimester." She told him.

"So why'd you tell me?" He asked with a raised brow.

"Because you're you, Gibbs. I can't hide anything from you." She answered honestly.

Gibbs looked straight ahead with a stony face. She only ever saw him like this when he was really confused, like a big case without any leads. Abby was pretty sure he wasn't mad, but then again no one could ever be entirely sure with Gibbs.

"I know its weird for you, it should probably be weird for me too, but it's really not. Well, anyway, I just wanted to let you know." She blurted suddenly.

While waiting for Gibbs to say or do anything her foot started to tap impulsively. Minutes dragged on and Gibbs stayed quiet. Abby stood and started walking to her car, feeling a little dejected.

"Abby," Gibbs said roughly. Abby spun quickly to look at him, her green eyes filled with hope. "It'll be okay." He told her firmly.

She smiled smally. "I know Gibbs." She said surely. "See you at work." She said feeling a little more relieved.

Gibbs nodded and stood, turning his back to Abby without another word and walking into his house. Abby got back into her car and drove home, feeling a little more relieved about Gibbs. She knew he was resilient and he'd be okay no matter what. Or at least that's what she hoped. When she got back to her apartment Evy's truck was close by and she quickly parked and ran up to her apartment.

She didn't have to open the door because Evy was already waiting for her in the open doorway.

"Positive?" She asked impatiently.

"All of them!" Abby cried happily.

"Holy crap!" Evy yelled bouncing.

"I KNOW!" Abby squealed, running at Evy and hugging her instantly.

They hugged their way into the apartment, barely shutting the door, and were still squealing. Evy finally detached herself from Abby and was smiling brilliantly.

"How do you feel?" Evy asked buzzing.

"I feel excited. I can't wait until I actually feel pregnant." Abby answered beaming.

"Bite your tongue, trust me." Evy groaned.

"I know it's gonna suck but I knew that before I started all of this." Abby said surely. She wasn't so twisted that she _wanted_ morning sickness, but she was willing to take whatever pregnancy through at her for her baby.

"And you'll know it intimately soon." Evy said sympathetically, patting her shoulder.

"You'll still be my friend when I'm crazy, right?" Abby asked hopefully, looking at Evy seriously.

"You make it sound like you aren't already." Evy laughed.

"True," Abby said smiling deviously.

"You never know, you might actually get more sane." Evy teased.

"Don't say such things!" Abby yelled, smacking Evy.

"I'm just saying, it can happen." Evy chuckled. Abby looked at her pointedly. "Did you tell the father?" She asked carefully.

Abby lost most of her cheer and nodded. "Yeah," She said with a slight frown.

"Everything okay?" Evy asked rubbing Abby's shoulders comfortingly.

A knowing and sly grin covered Abby's dark lips as she remembered what Gibbs told her not so long before. "Everything is fine." She said surely.

Evy looked at her strangely but Abby kept smiling only because she knew Gibbs had said everything would be okay and really, how many documented cases were there of Gibbs being wrong? Not enough to convince her that Gibbs was wrong this time, that's for sure.

AN: Review!


	9. And It Begins

AN: Hiya! This is a little longer than what I normally write, so I hope you all enjoy. NCIS is back so I've been getting more inspiration, I might even write an NCIS: LA story. I hope you all enjoy! :D Oh, and I have a Harry Potter story that I posted a week or so ago, so check it out if you want!

Chapter Nine

And It Begins

Abby confirmed her pregnancy at the doctors and she was over the moon. She was back to her normal cheerful self and then some. Only McGee asked anything and she was able to deflect him easily and started counting down the days until she could tell everyone the good news. She did tell Vance that the IUI took but that she wasn't going to tell anyone else until she was out of her first trimester, just to be sure. Vance said his normal 'duly noted' looking rather awkward. She wondered how he would take the news if he knew the baby was Gibbs'.

She also told her younger brother, Allen. He was excited and called her constantly, usually from baby stores asking what color she wanted for something or another. She had never appreciated having a gay brother so much in her life.

For the first month Abby didn't feel any different. Happier? Yes. But there was nothing going on with her body that was out of the ordinary. She was a little disappointed, but waited patiently for the actual symptoms to come. She also still had a strong urge for Caf-Pow! but steered clear of it thanks to Gibbs' and the orange soda guise.

On the third day of her second month of pregnancy she craved a buttermilk biscuit soaked in caramel syrup. Half way through the biscuit she realized it was her first craving. She called Andrew and Evy at three in the morning to let them know. Andrew was the only one excited as he was still awake. Evy promptly hung up on her. The next day, however, Evy brought her a book that would help her document her pregnancy for the baby.

The second week of her second month was rather colorful. Poor Tony was the one that caught her crying over the crime scene photographs of a young woman. He tried to console her but she quickly turned from tears to rage and nearly bit his head off. Tony ran as soon as he had the chance and Gibbs came down to talk to her after he found out, grinning a little too much.

As it started to near her birthday and all of her friends tried to make plans to go out and drink and party and do _a lot_ of things she shouldn't be doing pregnant, she realized she'd have to come up with an excuse before she told them all the good news, since the official day was the day before her birthday. She forced Evy to be her scapegoat and told everyone that she was helping Evy get over a bad breakup. Evy was not amused and forced her to watch Tristan for three nights straight while she actually looked for a boyfriend.

All and all pregnancy was treating her well, she hadn't had a bout of morning sickness yet and only gained one pound. The only thing weighing her down was Gibbs.

He grew distant since she told him about the baby. Not to a point where he made Tony, Ziva and McGee deal with her exclusively, but there wasn't as much banter. There were rarely any hugs and even less kisses. She took solace in the fact that he still talked to her and took her to lunch when she asked nicely. And voiced her craving for red meat.

Her doctor was happy with her progression and assured her all was well with her baby and the day before her birthday Abby was ready to tell everyone the good news. Or at least she thought.

She woke up and got dressed like she normally did, completely ecstatic and beaming. But when she got into work everyone was depressed. Gibbs was on his second coffee run of the morning. McGee was slumped over his key board. Tony was half asleep and Ziva was sharpening her knife gloomily.

Abby frowned as she looked over all her friends and saw them so down. "What's wrong guys?" She asked sadly.

"No cases." McGee mumbled.

Abby looked around confused and Ziva explained. "There is another seminar for proper filing of reports in an hour. We will be forced to attend." She answered dangerously. Mossad trained assassin in a room full of people that annoy her talking about a subject she doesn't like is probably a plan for disaster.

"But I have good news!" Abby said bouncing.

"There's a case?!" Tony asked hopefully as he shot up from his desk.

"No Tony." Abby said flatly, shaking her head.

Ziva rolled her eyes and looked up to Abby. "What is your good news Abby?" She asked with a hint of a smile.

The team started to perk up and Abby was about to yell the good news when the sure stride of Gibbs' interrupted her. "It'll have to wait, we have a dead Marine." Gibbs said firmly as he brushed passed her and to his desk.

"THANK GOD!" Tony cried out, grabbing his backpack and gun.

Gibbs tried to brush passed her again but Abby stepped directly in his path. "Gibbs, I've got news to tell everyone!" She whined, pouting deeply.

He leaned in and kissed her forehead fleetingly. "Later Abs," He murmured the walked back to the elevators.

Abby stomped her foot dramatically. "Ugh. Fine. But I want you all in my lab before the end of the day!" She yelling, spinning to watch as they all crammed into the elevator.

"Sure thing!" She heard Tony yell back.

Abby was not in a good mood when Ziva was able to spare a minute and check on her progress with the evidence. Knowing the raven haired woman had been cranky as of late, Ziva did not stay long. McGee showed up next and quickly left when a stapler was thrown at his head. Tony didn't even attempt to go down there. Gibbs didn't show is mug at all either.

Almost eight hours later, when they had concluding the Marine had committed suicide, the team was pushed down to the lab by Gibbs, including Palmer and Ducky. All but Gibbs and Ducky looked frightened, Tony tried to make a break for it but Gibbs stopped him and tossed him to Ziva who held him firmly in place.

"You had news Abby?" Gibbs asked as he stood at the back of the room with Ducky.

"Yes!" She said losing all the anger she had. Tony still looked scared but McGee and Palmer looked a little more relaxed. "Its very exciting, and I hope you guys aren't mad that I didn't tell you immediately, but I wanted to be sure everything was okay and nothing weird happened." She rambled, using erratic hand movements.

"Spew it out!" Ziva yelled impatiently.

"Its spit Zee-vah." Tony said mockingly.

"I'm three months pregnant!" Abby yelled, no longer able to contain it.

The whole room froze for a second. McGee was shocked. Tony was confused and Palmer and Ducky were baffled. Ziva recovered first and hugged Abby.

"Congratulations!" She cried as she hugged Abby tightly. Abby was a little shocked that Ziva actually hugged her, but didn't dwell on it and hugged back just as tightly.

"Wait, who's the fath-" Gibbs smacked Tony before he could finish the sentence. "So there's a little goth in the squishy coffin?" He asked instead as he rubbed his head.

When Ziva finally let Abby go she stepped back next to Tony and Ducky came up for a hug of his own. "Oh, congratulations Abigail!" He said happily. Their hug was brief but Ducky was still smiling broadly when he looked up at her. "You will make a fine mother indeed." He said knowingly, patting her cheek and making her smile.

"Congratulations Abby, I never really saw you as a mother." Palmer said with a goofy smile. Abby glared at him and he blanched. "A-and by that I mean, y-you are just so maternal with everyone else, it'll be strange to see you with a baby." He stammered nervously. Everyone looked at him with a raised brow and Abby was more confused than angry now. "I'll be down in autopsy." He finished panicked and quickly escaped the room.

When Palmer was gone Abby looked to McGee who was still entirely silent. "Are you okay McGee?" Abby asked worryingly.

"Why didn't you tell us?" He asked quietly.

Abby frowned and walked over to him and hugged him. "Well, I found out when I was two weeks along, and I wanted to at least get to the first trimester before I started letting the news get out. And you guys are the first people I've told, well other than my brother." She explained honestly. Technically Gibbs is in the room and he knew with Allen, so it really wasn't lying.

"And quite right of you to make sure you didn't mis-" Ducky tried to say but Abby stopped him.

"AH!" Abby yelled, slapping her hand to his mouth to cover his lips. "Don't jinx it Ducky!" She hissed.

Ducky pried her hand from his hand, looking a little confused. "Right, sorry." He mumbled.

"This explains your mood swings." McGee said a little relieved.

"And your sudden craving for toast with honey and cream cheese." Ziva added, making a sour face.

"So, six more months of mood swings. Should I just transfer out until the baby leaves the building?" Tony asked wincing, still rubbing his head from all the smacks it had received.

"No Tony!" Abby cried, grabbing him and hauling him to her side. "You're going to be a godfather, you can't leave!" She said desperately, holding onto Tony tightly.

"Really?" He asked confused.

"Of course, you, McGee and Ducky." She said looking to each man, then looked behind them all to Gibbs. "And Gibbs." She added with a knowing smile. Gibbs shifted uncomfortably and said nothing. "If you want to, that is." She said with a bright smile, already knowing she would get what she wanted, especially now that they knew she was pregnant.

"Oh yeah!" Tony answered, knowing better than to turn Abby down so close to noxious chemicals.

"Of course Abby." McGee answered stunned.

"I'd be delighted!" Ducky said beaming. He looked back at Gibbs to see what his answer would be and he only nodded, somewhat. His answer was even more ambiguous than normal. Everyone noticed but no one said anything, instead Abby looked to Ziva.

"Good, and Ziva, you will be godmother." She said firmly.

"I will?" Ziva asked cluelessly, looking at McGee and Tony. They nodded emphatically. "Oh, yes." She answered with a nod of her own.

"We should all have dinner together!" Ducky said looking around at everyone.

"Great idea Ducky!" Abby squealed.

Abby looked back at Gibbs and saw him on his phone briefly. "Vance wants to see us." Gibbs said firmly as he snapped his cell phone shut.

Abby let Ziva go and the three agents started walking toward the elevator. "When you guys are done, meet me at that steakhouse we ate last month, Tony remembers." She ordered, eyeing them all. Gibbs had already turned his back on her, but she was sure he heard and knew exactly when she was talking about.

"Yeah, Olivia." Tony said grinning stupidly.

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs yelled annoyed.

"Coming Boss!" He yelled automatically, rushing toward Gibbs.

Ducky and Abby were left in the lab alone and Abby was still beaming. "Abby," Ducky said curiously, looking up at her. She looked at him and saw he was getting ready to probe for information. "Did you tell Gibbs before the rest of us?" He asked with a raised brow.

"What?! No." She answered, insulted. Ducky didn't look convinced. "Okay, I did. But I had to! Gibbs has to know everything or he gets mad and I didn't want him mad." She said in a rush, pouting deeply.

"It's quite alright Abby, I understand." Ducky said patting her shoulder.

"Promise not to tell the others?" She begged.

Ducky smiled. "I swear it." He promised. She let out a breath of relief. "Shall we head out?" He asked pointing to the door.

"Sure, just let me shut everyone down." Abby said, feeling lighter on her feet than she had in weeks.

When Abby shut down all of her 'babies' Ducky escorted her to her car and Abby drove them both to the restaurant to save gas. Ducky called Palmer and invited him along after Abby said it was okay. Palmer was too scared to go and opted for paperwork instead. At the restaurant they were lucky enough to have a table big enough for everyone already set up.

Gibbs and the rest of the team showed up half an hour later. Abby had already ordered her steak and was halfway through it when they all sat with her.

"Didn't even wait for us?" Tony asked with a pout as he sat next to Ducky, with Ziva at his side.

Abby raised her knife threateningly to Tony. "Don't try to guilt trip the pregnant woman Tony, I will hurt you." She told him truthfully.

"I'll remember that." Tony said swallowing hard. Ziva grinned at Abby while she took her seat and McGee was very anxious to sit between the two women. Gibbs sat between Abby and Ducky and quickly picked up the menu.

"When do you find out the sex?" Ducky asked before taking a sip of his wine.

"What sex?" McGee asked panicking.

"Of the baby McGee." Abby said smacking him. "And I'm not going to." She answered Ducky.

Everyone at the table, save Gibbs who was still nose deep in his menu, looked surprised at the answer. "You aren't?" Ducky asked confused.

"There are no more surprises in the world, well good ones at least and it's something to look forward to." Abby explained with a shrug.

"Got any names picked out?" Tony asked curiously.

"No, and I'm not saying anything about names until the baby is born. I'm not risking it." Abby said firmly.

"You are seriously superstitious." McGee said shaking his head.

"Better safe then sorry." Abby sang.

"I think you are going to have a girl." Ziva said with a smile. Abby smiled with her as she thought about a baby girl.

"Boy," Tony said surely. "And Uncle Tony is going to teach him the way of the ladies." He added with a smirk.

Abby narrowed her eyes on Tony and held her knife toward him, again. "If my son, if it is a boy, ever starts talking about 'chasing tail' I will castrate you." She said deadly serious.

"And I will help." Ziva added with pursed lips.

"Quit now DiNozzo, you can't win." Gibbs said as seriously as he could while watching Abby point her steak knife at him.

The pretty waitress came up to the table with a broad smile and before Tony could say anything Ziva smacked him. Gibbs chuckled as he watched Tony pout and the waitress look at the two strangely.

"Oh good! I'm going to need another eight ounce." Abby said handing the waitress her plate with a big smile.

While the team ate they chatted about random things surrounding the baby and Abby's pregnancy. McGee asked about the coffin and Abby frowned as she told him it was in storage. She really missed the enclosure of her old bed, but there was no way to fit the body pillow she had just fallen in love with. She already tried and failed to fit it in with her. Abby was sure that the whole team was completely fine with her pregnancy and she was just getting more and more relieved.

Gibbs was quiet but not abnormally so. After a glass of scotch with Ducky he was a little more pliable and actually answered questions with at least two words. He didn't comment much on the baby subject but he hadn't run screaming and that was all Abby could ask for.

While Ziva and Tony argued about naming a baby after a movie character and McGee and Ducky discussed non-baby related things Abby looked over to Gibbs. He was leaning back in his chair, watching everyone else quietly. She twisted in her chair and leaned over to Gibbs and kissed his cheek soundly. Pulling away, Gibbs looked at her with a hint of a smile on his lips and Abby could tell he was just fine. For the moment.

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	10. Thump, Thump

AN: WOOT! Two updates in a day, this totally makes up for yesterdays lack of updates. I know I haven't updated in a while, I'm such a bad girl. I'm hoping to get back into the groove and update every two weeks, hope is the key word here! Now I'll let you all enjoy the new chapter! :)

Chapter Ten

Thump, Thump

Abby told her friends the next day when they all tried to get her to go out drinking. They were all shocked and one was even mad. Abby started to get upset when Evy tossed them out of the apartment and came back with two pints of Ben & Jerry's. They spent the rest of her birthday with Evy looking at baby things and pigging out on sweets.

She also never realized how nosey the people at NCIS really were until news started to spread that she was pregnant. A lot were happy and even got her gifts but the rest never stopped asking about the father. She handled it well for a while, telling everyone that it was a sperm donor that no one knew but two weeks in with the same question over and over and she started to crack. Well, she thoroughly cracked thanks to the hormones pumping through her system.

It was just before lunch and two women from accounting had just fled the lab when Abby started crying hysterically and throwing things at them when they asked what the father's name was. She had been on the floor with her face in her hands for the past hour when Gibbs came in.

When he got out of the elevator he had heard the sobs coming from the lab and dashed in. "Abby! What's wrong?" He asked crouching down in front of her, taking her face in his hands.

Abby's mascara and eyeliner was smeared down her cheeks and her green eyes were bloodshot. "Everyone keeps asking about the father and they won't believe me. But I'm telling the truth Gibbs!" She answered hysterically, wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly.

"Who?" He ground out as he hugged Abby tightly. He was not going to let anyone ruin this for Abby. Not after everything AN_he_ did to make it happen.

"Ugh," She moaned, pulling her face away from his neck and wiping the tears and make up from her face. "Everyone." She muttered, frowning.

"Anyone specific or do I just have everyone fired?" He asked with dead seriousness.

"Can you just scare them all into stop asking?" She pled, pouting.

He ran his hand over her hair and nodded. "Yeah," He said quietly.

"Oh Gibbs, I'd be a mess without you." She cried, hugging him again.

He let out a heavy breath and held her tightly. "D'you wanna leave early?" He murmured as he rubbed her back.

She nodded a little. "I'm leaving soon anyway, first sonogram." She told him, smiling broadly.

He stiffened at the word sonogram. "Who's going with you?" He asked tensely, dropping eye contact.

"Evy and possibly Ziva." She answered casually.

He nodded and stood, holding his hand out to help her up. She gave him both of her hands and he easily pulled her up. "I'll walk you to your car." He told her quietly.

"Gibbs you're always so chivalrous, it's sweet." She cooed, patting his cheeks then turned to get her coat.

They left her lab and took the elevator up to the bull pen. Tony and McGee were gone and Ziva was sitting patiently at her desk.

Abby stepped out of the elevator and looked back at Gibbs. "I'll get Ziva real quick." She said pointing toward Ziva.

"I'll be here." Gibbs said standing between the elevator doors.

Abby smile a little and kissed him on the cheek before bouncing out, toward Ziva's desk.

Skidding to a halt in front of her Abby beamed down to the Israeli woman. "Ziva!" She cheered.

Ziva calmly looked up from the papers at her desk, smiling politely. "Yes?"

"I have my first sonogram today, wanna come with?" Abby asked hopefully, with pleading eyes.

"I-uh," Ziva stuttered unsure, looking around Abby to Gibbs. He nodded a yes to the unspoken question in her eyes. "Alright," She said more confidently, with a smile.

"Great! Let's go." Abby said reaching over the desk to pull Ziva up.

"Now?" Ziva asked shocked.

"Well, in an hour, but I want to get there early." Abby answered as-a-matter-of-factly.

Ziva glanced at Gibbs, who nodded again, then back at Abby's happy eyes. She was trapped and extremely uncomfortable. "O-okay," She muttered.

Abby squealed a little and pulled Ziva from her desk, who barely had the chance to grab her cell phone from her desk as she was yanked away. Abby rushed Gibbs and Ziva into the elevator and they road it down to the ground floor, then to the garage elevator down to Abby's hot-rod.

"Gibbs, I'll have her back before curfew." Abby said with a mock salute.

Gibbs smiled as Ziva shifted uncomfortably at Abby's side. "She's all yours." He said cheerfully.

Abby hugged Gibbs before he could leave and then climbed in her car, with Ziva easing into the passenger seat, slowly and cautiously. Abby tried to talk to Ziva during the ride to the doctor's office, but Ziva wasn't up for much conversation, leaving Abby to talk to happily talk to the wind.

They parked as close to the front of the office and met up with Evy, who was waiting at the front doors.

Abby hugged Evy as soon as she was in arms length. "Evy you made it!" She cheered.

"I promised." Evy laughed as Abby begrudgingly let her go.

Ziva and Evy looked at each other awkwardly. "Oh, Evy, this is Ziva, Ziva this is Evy." Abby rushed once she saw the uneasiness between them. "I figured the godmothers should at least meet before I pop out the baby." She added smugly.

"Sure thing, Abby." Evy said eying her pregnant friend.

"Come on, let's go!" Abby cried, grabbing Evy and Ziva's hands and pulling them to the door of the office.

After an awkward ten minutes in the waiting room, with quite a few wayward glances from the other women and some men in the room, they were called back to a room. Ziva stood anxiously in a corner while Evy lounged in the free chair.

Abby was going to try and get Ziva to chill out some when the doctor came in. Ziva stood at attention while Evy lazily lolled her head toward the door.

The doctor was a short, older man with a pleasant face and gentle eyes. "Hello Dr. Granger," Abby greeted before anyone could say anything.

"Hello Ms. Sciuto, Dr. Vogel sent you, correct?" He asked looking at her chart.

"Yep, he has a lot of confidence in you." She answered smiling.

Dr. Granger smiled. "I'm flattered." He said truthfully as he sat on the doctor's stool. "So, you're here for your first ultrasound." He asked smiling a little wider.

Abby nodded enthusiastically. "Correct,"

The doctor glanced over to Ziva and Evy with an inquiring eye. "Might I ask who you ladies are?" He asked politely.

"Godmothers," Ziva and Evy answered in unison.

"Getting a head start on the godmother duties?" He asked amused.

Ziva was a little confused but Evy nodded. "Something like that." Evy said smiling a little.

"Alright then, shall we get started?" He asked turning toward the ultrasound machine.

"Yes!" Abby squealed.

Dr. Granger instructed Abby to unbutton her pants and lift up her shirt and squirted the cold jelly onto her exposed and still flat stomach. Ziva stood awkwardly at Abby's feet while Evy took to her free side and held her hand. Dr. Granger used the wand of the ultrasound machine to spread the jelly across her stomach and find where her baby had settled itself.

Just to the left of her lower abdomen Dr. Granger stopped and found the baby. Ziva looked thoroughly confused, because it all looked like a malfunctioning television set but Evy was trying her hardest not to giggle and Abby was gaping at the kidney shaped blob she quickly identified as her baby.

Dr. Granger flicked on the sound and a fast whooshing sound filled the room. "There's the heartbeat." He said stopping his hand at the spot on her stomach.

"Oh my God." Abby cried.

"Its not very clear, but you can make out the head and the legs." He told them, pointing to the round shape larger than the rest and the tiny little legs attached.

"It's my little alien." Abby sniffed, trying not to cry again.

"Is its head supposed to be that big?" Ziva asked cocking her head to the side.

Evy rolled her eyes while Dr. Granger laughed. "Yes," He said surely.

"Can you tell if it's a boy or a girl yet?" Evy asked curiously.

"No! I don't want to know!" Abby yelled.

Dr. Granger looked back at the ultra sound and shook his head. "No, not yet."

Evy shrugged. "My doctor could tell Tristan was of the male kind when I was thirteen weeks pregnant." She said trying to figure it out for herself from the ultrasound.

"Please don't tell anyone. I don't want to know and I don't want anyone else to know." Abby pleaded.

"Anything you say, you're the mom." Dr. Granger said with a smile.

Abby sighed relief and looked back to her baby on the monitor. "Is it okay?" She asked worryingly.

"Perfectly healthy from what I can see. I'll take a few measurements to be sure." Dr. Granger answered.

Abby continued to watch the little shape on the screen and tears soon clouded her vision. "I promised myself I wouldn't cry!" She cried pathetically.

Evy squeezed Abby's hand and when Dr. Granger was done with the measurements he looked to Abby with another smile. "Would you like some pictures?" He asked hoping it would calm her tears.

"Yes!" Abby squealed. "Can I get doubles?" She asked quickly.

Dr. Granger laughed again. "Sure,"

Abby left the doctors with ten different pictures of her baby and doubles of those pictures. She gave one to Ziva and Evy, letting them choose which and picked one to send to her brother as they walked down to the parking lot.

When the got to Abby's car she pulled her two friends into a bone-crushing hug. "Thank you both for coming." She said on the verge of tears again.

Evy patted Abby's back. "Your welcome, but I have to go back to work now." She said with a strangled voice.

Abby pouted and let them go. "See you later?" She asked hopefully.

"Yep," Evy said with a nod. She gave Ziva an awkward wave and walked over to her truck.

"Should we go back to the Navy Yard?" Ziva asked after Evy had left.

"No, Gibbs gave us the rest of the day." Abby said grinning.

"He did?" Ziva asked confused.

Abby nodded. "Want to go baby shopping?" She asked happily.

"Haven't you been shopping for almost four months already?" Ziva asked with a raised brow.

"Looking, not a lot of buying, I didn't want to jinx it." Abby said patting her belly.

Ziva was still confused, but didn't say anything. "Alright," She said with a nod.

"Yay!" Abby cheered as she bounced into the driver's seat.

They drove around the area until Abby found a baby boutique, which only took ten minutes, then fought for parking and went in. The shop was small but there wasn't anyone else shopping so Abby and Ziva had free run of the store.

They oogled over cute dresses and little shoes but Abby's mind was elsewhere. She looked seriously to her shorter friend and took in a deep breath.

"Ziva," Abby said quietly.

"Hm?" Ziva asked as she looked through onesie's for boys.

"Why haven't you asked about the father?" Abby asked curiously.

Ziva put the little clothes down and looked to Abby. "If you wanted us to know, you would have told us." She answered simply.

Abby almost started crying again. She knew she'd always be able to count of Ziva to be the considerate one. "Thank you for not being nosey." She choked.

Ziva smiled for a second before her eyes narrowed. "Has Tony done something?" She asked angrily.

"No, but I'm sure he'll try to ask sooner or later." Abby said with a shrug. She wasn't too worried about Tony or McGee, she knew she could always get Gibbs to set them straight without an issue.

"I'll take care of him." Ziva said evilly.

"Don't go too hard on him, I want my baby to have all of its godparents." Abby said pleadingly.

"Oh, don't worry. Only his psyche will be damaged." Ziva said still grinning.

"Then its fine." Abby said casually.

They shared a laugh about their evil plans and bought as many gender neutral things as they could. There wasn't a lot of things that were suitable for boys and girls so they didn't leave with much. There was, however, a black bassinet they had was just what she wanted for her living room. Leaving with only one bag and the bassinet made Abby feel strange since she usually always had to have help to her car because of all the bags she had.

Abby drove Ziva to her apartment, carrying on a conversation all by herself like she normally did. She didn't mind, she was used to it and it was nice to not have to stop and answer silly questions. When

"Thanks again Ziva, I know this was kind of awkward for you." Abby said through the window.

"It is nothing Abby, I believe this is good for me. I need to get out of my comfort… area." Ziva said waving her hands around the way she did when she didn't know the right saying.

"Comfort zone?" Abby asked.

"Yes, that." Ziva said taking a mental note of the correction. "I'll see you tomorrow." She said with a wave.

"Bye!" Abby cheered as she drove off, making Ziva chuckle as she walked toward her apartment door.

Abby went home to her apartment without any other stops and skipped up her apartment with her new goodies. She stored the new baby things in the corner she had set aside for everything and made three peanut butter and jelly sandwiches because that was all she wanted to eat for dinner.

With her dinner in her lap, she took out her ultrasound pictures to her bed and started sorting out who the pictures would go to. She had McGee, Ducky, Palmer and Tony's pictures set aside but when she tried to find a picture to give to Gibbs she had to stop herself. She didn't know if he would want one, or how he would feel if he didn't get one.

It was all so confusing to her but when she looked down at the pictures of her baby and was instantly filled with happiness. The sonogram of the baby holding up their hand made her feel the best. She set that one aside for Gibbs.

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	11. VolunteeredTold

AN: Both NCIS stories updated in one night, and not on the night I planned them to be updated. Oh well, at least there are new chapters! Abby will be having the baby within the next three or four chapters, any guesses on what the baby will be? I already know, I just want to see what you all think. :) Enjoy!

Chapter Eleven

Volunteered-Told

Into her third trimester Abby became slow. It was to be expected, not only was she pregnant but she still had the same work load as before only without all the caffeine she used to ingest. She managed to keep up with the case work, barely. On a rare weekend were there were no left over cases and the team had nothing work related to do, Abby recruited everyone to help her move into her new apartment.

She had been planning on looking for a new apartment after the baby was born, but when her landlord learned she would need another room for the baby he offered her the apartment directly under the one she already had. He didn't want to lose her as a tenant because she was never late on rent and never caused him trouble. She was in tears when she tried to thank the old Hispanic man.

She called Tony, Ziva, McGee, Ducky, Palmer, Evy and Gibbs and asked them all to come and help her since she was into her sixth month of pregnancy and moving heavy objects was a big no-no. They all agreed to come, even Gibbs who gave her a blank nod. Abby had spent the entire week before packing everything up and getting ready to move.

At ten in the morning on that Saturday Tony and McGee showed up in exercise clothes.

"You came!" She cheered, throwing her arms around Tony and McGee.

"We weren't going to risk the wrath of a pregnant woman." Tony said fearfully, hugging her back carefully, her much more rounded belly pressed against his stomach.

She pulled away and looked at them, still smiling brightly. "You guys are smarter than you look." She said proudly, patting their heads.

She looked behind them, expecting Ziva but she wasn't there making Abby frown. "What?" McGee asked looking over his shoulder.

"Where's Ziva?" She asked sadly.

"Getting doughnuts and coffee." Tony answered.

"I can't drink coffee." Abby whined.

"That's why I got orange juice." Ziva said walking into the apartment, juggling two boxes of doughnuts and a tray full of coffee and orange juice.

"You're such a good godmother already!" Abby exclaimed, helping Ziva with the load in her arms.

"So, what are we doing?" McGee asked after he thanked Ziva for his coffee, while Tony stuffed his face.

"Downstairs has already been painted earlier in the week so we can start moving the big stuff down." Abby answered pointing to the furniture.

"You painted?" Tony cried through a mouthful of doughnut.

"I hired painters!" Abby yelled, smacking Tony.

"Oh," He mumbled.

"I'm not stupid." She commented, rolling her eyes.

"We know." Ziva said soothingly, rubbing her shoulder while glaring at Tony.

"So, you guys start moving and I'll boss you around!" Abby said happily.

"Sounds like a plan." McGee said chuckling.

After a few doughnuts and their coffee, they all started working. Abby stayed upstairs while they started moving furniture from her room downstairs. When they had the whole room empty, Abby went downstairs and told them how she wanted the room set up. Ziva quickly ran out with the excuse that she would start moving more boxes down. Abby had been ordering Tony and McGee around for half an hour when Ducky's voice rang through the apartment.

"Hello? Abigail?" Ducky called out.

"Ducky!" Abby yelled, rushing out to Ducky, hugging him as soon as she saw him. Palmer waved awkwardly at her from behind the older man. "Palmer! Thank you both for coming." She said happily.

"We are at your disposal my dear." Ducky said grinning.

"I'd be careful with that statement Ducky." McGee mumbled as he walked passed them and back up the stairs.

"Shush and get the couch down here!" She yelled after him.

"Slave driver." Tony muttered as he followed McGee.

Abby smacked Tony as he walked by her, making him stumble. "So-so, where do you want us?" Palmer stammered.

Abby pondered the question, tapping her chin. "I think you should two should start painting the upstairs." She answered pointing up the stairs.

"As you wish my dear." Ducky said with a small bow.

"All the paint and supplies are in the kitchen." Abby smiled.

"We'll start right away." Palmer said, walking up the stairs.

Ducky rolled his eyes and followed his younger assistance. "I'll get the food out of there before it gets splattered with paint." Abby said following them up.

While Ducky and Palmers started painting the upstairs apartment, Abby was forced downstairs to stay away from the paint fumes, even though the paint was eco-friendly, the smell still made her dizzy. All of the furniture was in her new apartment and her and Ziva had already set up the nursery. Abby ordered Ziva, McGee and Tony to get all of the boxes out of the apartment so Ducky and Palmer could finish and help them when Evy showed up with Tristan.

"Hello?" Evy asked confused as she stared at the box laden stairs.

"Hey!" Abby said as she hugged Evy. "Thanks for coming." She said to both of them.

"Can I paint?" Tristan asked quickly, bouncing up and down.

"Sure, Ducky and Palmer would like the help." Abby agreed.

Tristan took off before Evy could say a word and was looking entirely worried. "I should follow him, the last time I left him alone with paint he looked like he bathed in it." Evy said running up the stairs.

"Okay," Abby said to herself.

At four in the afternoon all of the boxes were in her downstairs apartment however the living room and dining room weren't fully set up but that wasn't stopping Tony and McGee from sprawling on the couch while Ziva was curled up on the dining room table. Palmer was using the bathroom and Ducky was still upstairs with Evy and Tristan putting the finishing touches on the paint.

"Can we stop yet?" Tony moaned, burying his head in the couch cushions.

"No DiNozzo." Gibbs' voice rang through the apartment.

Abby turned to the front door while his agents jumped to their feet. "Gibbs!" She squeaked, rushing into Gibbs' arms.

"Hey Abs," Gibbs said as he hugged back tightly. Abby pulled him into her apartment and smiled up at him. "Pizza's in my car." He said with a nod over his shoulder.

"I'll get it!" Tony called out, rushing out to the parking lot.

"I didn't think you'd come." She said, still smiling brightly.

"I said I would." He told her.

"You didn't really say, you just kind of nodded." She said with a frown.

He only shrugged.

"See, that isn't a very clear answer!" She yelled frustrated.

Gibbs grinned. "How're you feeling?" He asked looking down at her protruding baby-belly.

"I'm fine, just giving everyone orders for a change." She smirked.

Gibbs chuckled and shook his head.

"Ducky is upstairs painting." She said pointing up to her old apartment.

"Make sure DiNozzo doesn't eat all the pizza." He murmured to her before he kissed the side of her temple and walked toward her old apartment.

Abby nodded and Gibbs spun and walked for the stairs just as Evy was coming downstairs. She looked at him as he passed her and then walked up to Abby with a knowing look.

"So, that must be Gibbs?" Evy asked almost rhetorically.

"Yup," Abby said still smiling.

"He's taller than I imagined." Evy noted.

"Everything finished up there?" Abby asked curiously, knowing she couldn't go up stairs because of the fumes.

"Yeah, Ducky has Palmer and Tristan cleaning up before we lock it up." Evy said with a nod.

"This is going a lot faster than I thought it would." Abby said happily.

"Says the one not doing any of the work." Tony commented under his breath as he passed her with the pizza.

"Ziva, please take the pizza away from him." Abby said as he walked toward the Mossad agent.

"But-but!" Tony stammered as Ziva snatched the box from him.

"You know the rules." Abby said grinning, resting her hands on her belly.

"I apologize, oh great and wonderful forensic scientist." Tony said with a great bow toward her feet.

"Okay, he can have pizza." Abby said to Ziva, smiling so wide her face was nearly split in half.

Their break was short lived. Once the pizza was gone, which didn't take more than twenty minutes, Abby had everyone back to work. When the upstairs apartment was finished, Abby delivered the keys to her landlord, personally and gave him an update on the moving situation, promising him that all work would stop by eight o'clock.

When the hour came to pass, all of the boxes were in the rooms they were supposed to be in and almost everyone was sprawled out on something. Save for Ducky, Gibbs and Tristan who were still standing.

"Are we done yet?" McGee asked tiringly.

"For today." Abby said with a smile. She was getting tired herself, and she could only imagine what the others felt like.

Everyone started shuffling out of her apartment as soon as she said it.

"I'll expect everyone back tomorrow by noon!" She called out after them.

Almost all of them moaned something back. Tristan gave a happy reply, only because he was filled with the energy all children had.

Abby turned to Gibbs before he left and hugged him again. "Thanks for coming Gibbs." She said with a happy sigh.

He kissed her forehead but hugged her awkwardly, almost to avoid her stomach. "Glad to help," He murmured, then left in his swift way.

AN: Review!


	12. Future Prospect

AN: Guess who is going to pop in the next chapter? ABBY! I can't contain myself any longer, baby is coming! This is a bit of a fluff chapter, which is what took so long. Hope you all enjoy. Thank you all for reading and reviewing. :)

Chapter Twelve

Future Prospect

At almost eight months along in her pregnancy, Abby decided it was time to bring Evy to NCIS. Not only to learn, but to help. Abby couldn't spend more than three hours on her feet a day now because her back hurt so much and her ankles were swollen. Evy drove Abby to work in her truck, since Abby was too big to drive now, on a day she didn't pick up shifts at the county lab. They knew at the county lab there that Evy would be gone as soon as Abby gave birth and they were trying to get her to stay because she was the only competent forensic scientist they had. But Evy didn't falter, she was going to work at NCIS for the two months, if not more, Abby needed her too and then she would look at possibly working elsewhere.

Abby showed Evy where she could park and where it was best to do so, but made her park closest to the elevator instead because she didn't want to walk far, and they made their way up. When they got to Abby's lab, Evy made her sit down and she started turning everything on. Mr. Mass-Spec had just given Evy attitude so Abby forced herself out of the chair and waddled over to the machine.

"They get temperamental sometimes, but they always respond well to positive energy." Abby told Evy as she started to pet the machine.

"I'll remember that." Evy said as she looked at Abby strangely.

"Whoa Momma!" Tony called out as he entered her lab, holding Abby's favorite meal so he wouldn't be killed on sight, and saw her from the side, where her protruding belly was most noticeable.

"Oh, good, we're hungry!" Abby said smiling, ignoring his reaction to her size.

"For Mom and baby-unknown." Tony said as he handed over the bag.

"You can't call it that." Abby told him sharply.

"Sure I can, no one knows." Tony said simply. He turned to leave when Evy, standing near the mass spectrometer, caught his eye. "Are you leaving already?" He asked Abby, confused.

"No, she's going to shadow me until I have the baby." Abby answered.

"Ah," Tony muttered as his phone started to ring and he answered it with a swift flick of his wrist. "Yeah, Boss?" He asked quickly. "Be right there." He said after a short pause. As he closed his phone, Tony started for the elevator.

"Bring me back that Wonton soup I like!" Abby yelled at Tony as he left.

"Will do my super-pregnant lady!" Tony called back.

Abby left the bag on her desk and spun on her heels to look at Evy. "Where were we?" She asked with furrowed brows.

"The proper attitudes to use with the diagnostic equipment." Evy answered, still fearful.

"Oh, yes!" Abby said cheerfully and made her way back to the equipment in question.

Abby walked Evy through her lab, showing her friend where she kept everything she would need in the weeks after her baby was born. Evy and Abby had a very different organizational style, but Evy promised to keep everything the way Abby had it, so she could come back after maternity leave and just right back into working. Abby was worried about where Evy would work when she returned, but Evy wasn't worried at all. After Abby had finished showing her the proper filing system, there was nothing left for her to show Evy in the lab.

"Okay, I think its time for the official tour of NCIS." Abby said as she pushed herself out of her computer chair.

"Are you sure?" Evy asked as she helped Abby to her feet.

Abby nodded. "I've been sitting for a while. I'm pretty sure I can take you down to autopsy."

"Alright," Evy conceded and they walked to the elevators together.

The trip down to autopsy was brief and when they arrived, Ducky was absent and Palmer was signing paperwork with McGee on one of the empty slabs.

"Hi guys," Abby said with a wave as she walked through the sliding doors.

"Hey Abby," McGee said automatically, and then saw Evy walk into autopsy behind her. "Oh, Evy, what are you doing here?" He asked, straightening his back and squaring his shoulders, trying to make himself look more appealing.

"Shadowing Abby for a while, so I'll be ready when she has the baby." Evy answered before Abby could.

"Oh, that's nice." Palmer said smiling like an idiot.

"Yeah," Evy said awkwardly, eyeing the medical examiners assistant suspiciously.

"Well, anyway, this is autopsy, I showed you how to work the camera upstairs, but sometimes you have to come down for specimens." Abby said pointing arbitrarily to Ducky's desk.

"Pretty much the same as at the county lab." Evy said with a nod as she looked around the room.

Palmer asked, trying to inch his way closer to Evy. "You work for the county?" He asked, putting his hands on his hips.

"For the moment." Evy answered warily.

"How are they treating you there?" McGee asked moving to nudge Palmer away.

Evy took a step away from the men. "Fine, I suppose." She said slowly.

"Evy, why don't you go see what's taking Tony so long with my soup?" Abby asked as she eyed McGee and Palmer.

"Will do." Evy said quickly and dashed out of autopsy.

When Evy cleared the door and Abby heard the doors to the elevator shut, she spun and glared at McGee and Palmer. She closed in on them as fast as she could, with a pointed finger.

"Alright you two, I'm going to say this once so listen good." She said lowly. "If either one of you make her quit because of your creepy crushes, you _both_ will be missing key parts of your male anatomy, do we understand each other?" She asked threateningly.

"Yes," McGee answered fearfully.

Palmer still looked afraid, but also very confused. "Not really," He said carefully.

"Just stop talking Palmer." Gibbs said as he strode in from the elevator and to Abby's side, who was grinning like mad.

"Right," Palmer said with a nod and turned back to the paper work on the autopsy table.

"Upstairs McGee," Gibbs ordered, pointing over his shoulder to the elevator.

"Yes, Boss." McGee said with a frantic nod and scampered away.

Gibbs turned to face Abby and looked down at her. She looked tired, but her eyes were still bright and she was beaming with happiness. Her belly was full to an almost obscene point. She was carrying the baby low and Gibbs couldn't help but make the distinction that when Shannon was pregnant she carried Kelly high. It made him wonder if Abby was pregnant with a boy…

"Hi Gibbs," Abby said cheerfully.

"I saw Evy." He said with a nod behind him.

"She's going to follow me around for while, get the feel of NCIS before I hand her the reins." She told him comfortingly, sensing he might have assumed Evy was going to replace her sooner.

"How's she doing?" He asked, genuinely curious. She was going to be his forensic scientist for a spell, after all.

"Good, so far. I don't think there will be any technical issues. But there might be some personal ones." She said with glare at Palmer who sunk deeper into his paper work.

"She's a big girl Abby." He said grinning.

"I know, but I'm just very protective right now." She said with a sigh as she rested her hands on her belly.

Gibbs looked at her stomach awkwardly. It was still hard for him. All he could see was Shannon, just as pregnant with Kelly.

"Oh, I need to leave early Wednesday. I need to look for a new car. A hot rod is not meant for a baby." She told him frowning.

"Alright," He said with a nod.

"Thanks Gibbs," She said smiling widely, wrapping her arms around him and resting her head on his shoulder. Palmer mumbled something about more pens and slipped into the stock room.

He rubbed her lower back, knowing that was where she was probably feeling the most pain from being pregnant. He knew he was right when she practically hummed. "How're you feeling?" He asked softly.

"Like a massive, swollen, whale." She said against his shoulder then looked up. "But a happy whale." She added, smiling more.

"Doctors say everything is okay?" He asked with the slightest hint of concern lacing his voice.

"Yup, they've cleared me for a natural labor, everything is good to go. Well, in a month." She answered.

"Your brother coming down?" He asked hopefully.

"He can't. But he will be here in three months. He's using a months worth of vacation time to visit." She said with a chuckle.

"Good," He said as he rubbed her back before he moved away from her and walked back toward the elevator.

"Gibbs," Abby called out before he reached the sliding doors.

He stopped and turned with in a second. "Yeah, Abs?" He asked automatically.

"I just wanted to say, that if you want to be in the room, when I deliver, I wouldn't mind, at all." She said nervously.

He didn't breath for thirty seconds. When he finally filled his lungs he shuffled back to Abby. He tried to wrap his mind around an answer, a simple answer. But there wasn't one. He couldn't tell her anything for sure at that moment. He couldn't say yes, or no. And it wasn't because he didn't want to disappoint Abby, it was because he didn't know if he could not be there when his own child was born.

"We'll see Abby." He finally said.

Abby couldn't deny that his vague answer was completely disappointing. "Okay," She murmured.

Gibbs leaned over her belly and kissed her forehead, lingering longer than he normally would. Abby knew he was trying to make up for the disappointment he had just caused her. She gave him a small smile to show him that she wasn't upset, even if she still was. He left soon after.

Evy walked in a few minutes later with a brown paper bag in her grasp and an exasperated look on her face. "Alright, apparently he was flirting with the delivery girl." She said shaking her head as she handed the bag to Abby.

"Thanks," Abby said sullenly.

"Why so glum?" Evy asked confused, rubbing Abby's back.

Abby didn't have the heart to say what was truly bothering her because she didn't know if she would be able to actually say it. "Just stuff." She answered with depressed shrug and began to sip on the soup that she hoped would make everything better.

Abby and Evy worked through the rest of the day and left a little after six. And so was the schedule for the rest of the week. Other than Wednesday, Abby took her hot-rod to the friend that helped her restore it, who promised to take great care of her vehicle. She went car shopping with McGee after Tony dropped them off and left Evy in charge of the lab for the rest of the day, until she left to go home.

She had already decided she was going to get a Toyota Prius before she left NCIS at two in the afternoon. She had already compared it to several other cars and it was the one she wanted and the one she decided would be safest for her baby. She bought a brand new one, never even test driven, and she had to get it in red. McGee drove her home in the car at around eight at night. Evy begrudgingly agreed to drive him home from there.

The days dragged along for Abby, and sometimes even the hours. There were times when she wondered if she was going to be pregnant forever. But when the baby did somersaults in her belly, or even kicked, she didn't feel like she minded so much. To pass the remaining time Abby finished getting the house prepared for her baby but within two weeks of her due date the house was done and ready. She was extremely impatient. It was hard for her to wait and it always had been. She took to counting the hours just to try and stop from going crazy.

AN: Review!


	13. That Pleasant Surprise

AN: Well, if you don't know, I got a job. I work at a call center from 4 to 12:30, the night shift, which I like. However, that means less updates as I'm sure you've noticed! However, I do have the next two chapters planned out, so bonus! Abby will go into labor next chapter, I swear. I just needed this fluffiness first. I dunno why. Thanks for all of the support guys and I will finish this story for you, I swear!

Chapter Thirteen

That Pleasant Surprise

It was closing in on her due date and with just under a month to go, Abby was getting severely impatient, with everything. She couldn't wait for anything without yelling or crying. It was horrible for her. Evy was working a lot closer with her at NCIS and was now the one who did most of the face to face interactions to save people from losing their heads and too keep Abby from crying constantly.

"How's tomorrow looking for you?" Evy asked Abby as they were leaving Friday night.

"Bloated, why?" Abby answered curiously.

"We have a surprise for you." Evy told her with a sneaking grin.

"Emergency c-section?" Abby asked hopefully.

"No," Evy said giving Abby a strange look.

"Who's we?" Abby asked suspiciously.

"You'll see," Evy grinned. "Someone will come pick you up around one, okay?" She asked smiling a little more.

"Normally, I would torture the information out of you, but I want ice cream and pretzels and I want my bed, so you're lucky." Abby said warningly, rubbing her large belly.

"Yes, I know." Evy said relieved.

"Goodnight," Abby said tiringly and dragged herself over to her car.

"Night," Evy repeated, sounding more excited than she normally was.

Abby went straight home, stripping as she walked into her apartment, and changed into a baggy shirt she had stolen from Gibbs and stretchy underwear before she grabbed the pint of Ben and Jerry's Strawberry Cheesecake and her bag of pretzels and went to her bed to watch whatever mindless movie she could find to stay off her feet.

At this point in her pregnancy everything was fine, her legs and feet were swollen, but she was healthy. She was gaining more weight in her face, but she had stopped caring about that weeks earlier. The baby was perfectly healthy, positioned perfectly for a normal delivery. The only thing Abby was having a hard time working with was her mood swings, but she knew it was a part of the chemical process that came along with pregnancy.

Overall, when she was comfortable, off her feet and well fed, she was in a great mood and very happy. It was just when those three needs were not met was she not in the best of temper. By the time her pint was gone, it was barely ten o'clock and she was ready to sleep. She waddled out to the kitchen to wash the spoon she used and throw the empty carton away and picked up her clothes along the way and tossed them in the laundry basket before falling back into bed, cuddling up to her body pillow and falling asleep as soon as her back was aligned.

Being that she was exhausted, she slept for eight hours straight before waking up. Her alarm went off at nine in the morning and Abby didn't think about moving for an hour just laying in her bed watching whatever was on TV. The thought that someone would be coming to get her in a few hours hadn't left the back of her mind. It took her another solid hour before she rolled out of bed just to eat and went back to laying and watching TV. At noon she finally convinced herself it was time to shower and crawled out of bed, belly first.

Her average showers took almost half an hour and that was without even thinking about shaving. She took her time the shower and didn't bother with too much make up while she was cleaning herself up. She put her hair in her normal pig-tails and waddled out of her bathroom in a black towel and decided what to wear. It was summer now and it was hard for Abby to wear any thing that covered her legs but she didn't like people seeing them either. She opted for a black and red polka-doted dress with black pregnancy spanx leggings. She would have worn her boots but she didn't know how much she would be standing, so she opted for her black flats and packed one of her little bags.

When she was sure she was ready to leave she started cleaning up her apartment. She made her bed, cleaned up her bathroom quickly and wiped down the kitchen counters. Abby went to the back of her apartment and looked into the nursery when here was nothing left for her to do that she wanted to do.

Looking into the baby's room, Abby smiled. The room was set up completely. The walls were a soft green with blue stripes across the walls. There was a crib against the wall closest to the door and the dresser was right across from it and the changing table was tucked under the window. The closet was full of clothes and were organized and washed already, just waiting for a baby to clothe. The right side had the boy specific clothes and the left side had the girl clothes while the middle was crammed with the non-gender specific clothes.

Abby still had no idea if her baby was a boy or girl and she was still happy that way. She had found herself looking online for little clues that might let her know about the sex of her baby. Nothing was definitive and didn't lean toward one or the other logically. Abby would force herself not to think about which she would prefer, but it was hard. It would cross her mind and she tried to think of something other than if she would rather play dress up with a little girl, or soccer with a little boy.

Everything was just how she wanted it, ready for a boy or a girl, whatever the universe decided she was to have. Or which ever of Gibbs' 'sniper's' made it to her waiting egg first. She shuffled to the closet and started thumbing through the clothes, sighing hopefully, and didn't hear the front door open.

She was just dreaming about what her baby would look like in the clothes when she felt a hand on her shoulder making her jump and scream at the same time. Spinning as fast as she could, holding her belly with both of her hands she was met with the sight of Gibbs, looking down at her worryingly.

"Gibbs you almost scared the baby out of me!" She yelled, wrapping her arms protectively around her burgeoning belly.

Gibbs rubbed her back soothingly to try and calm her down. "Ready to go?" He asked quietly.

"You're my ride?" She asked curiously.

He nodded. "Yep," He said still rubbing her back.

"Oh, well then, lets go." She said surprised, taking in a few deep breaths to calm herself and the fluttering baby in her belly.

Gibbs walked her out of her apartment, letting her lock up before he escorted her to his car. Abby had issues getting into the car, but it was comfortable and Abby couldn't ask for more. Gibbs didn't speak, as usual, and the ride was uneventful. He drove her straight to Ziva's apartment and took the nearest parking spot. Still not saying a word, Gibbs walked her up to Ziva's apartment, where the door was covered with pink and blue baby decorations and Abby became increasingly confused. She wanted to be excited, but she was at a completely loss why Ziva would decorate her door with baby themes.

Gibbs opened the door for her and standing in the foyer awkwardly, was Tristan. "Surprise!" He yelled, and after he did a few people piled out from the living room and kitchen Abby recognized the team and Evy instantly as they yelled the same thing. Gibbs hadn't said anything and was just standing behind her, almost for support.

Abby stood in the doorway, looking at everyone in shock. "It's your baby shower." Ziva said smiling.

"Guys!" Abby yelled happily waddling up to Tristan and hugging him tightly.

"We figured you needed one." McGee said with a goofy grin when Abby had let go of Tristan and started hugging him.

"I'm gonna cry!" Abby cried out as she moved through the room, hugging them all.

Evy was last, she had been the back of the room, organizing the presents and Abby practically squeezed the life out of her. "Thank you," She said tearily.

"No problem Abby, you deserve it." Evy whispered as they parted.

"Who wants food?" Tony asked smiling, patting his stomach.

Everyone laughed and started dishing out food. Gibbs sat next to Abby for a while, just sitting on the edge of the arm of the couch, until Tristan insisted that presets were opened. Gibbs pretended to get up to put the plates in the sink and leant against the counter, watching the scene in front of him.

"Open this one first, I made it." Tristan urged, putting the box in front of Abby.

Abby grinned at him and opened it. Inside of the box was a mobile that was painted black and white with little plush candy skulls hanging from the ends. Abby was almost brought to tears again.

"You made it?" Abby asked shocked.

"All by myself." Tristan said nodding proudly.

"Yeah, he's got the bruise to prove it." Evy said, soundly very motherly.

"I love it, its going right over the baby's crib as soon as I get home." Abby promised.

Tristan smiled brightly then took the empty box away and brought Abby another present.

With the endless energy of a boy his age, no one had to move while Abby opened all of her presents. Tristan brought them to her and cleared the trash away. Palmer held a trash bag open for him, but that was the only effort anyone had.

Abby got even more baby clothes, some varying in sizes, diapers and wipes, cute little items that were perfect for Abby's baby and some very thoughtful gifts that had Abby in tears.

McGee had designed and made a high-tech monitoring system for the baby.

Tony had given her two pairs of designer baby shoes that had been his, and told her that "he wouldn't need them any time soon".

Evy, with some more help from Tristan, had a made a huge picture frame that was shaped like a tree and had put all of Abby's family pictures on leaves, as well as some pictures of the team surrounding Abby with an empty slot for the baby's photo at the very top.

Ziva made a thick, white blanket for the baby, mirroring the one she had growing up.

Ducky wrote a journal full of information for the baby about Abby, the team as well as entertaining misadventures.

Palmer, who shocked Abby greatly, had made a film with interviews from everyone who was close to Abby about how great of a mother she would be and little bits of advice for the baby when they grew up.

After watching the video, Abby was in tears, not crying but her face was wet and her eyes were red. But, when Gibbs pulled the last gift from hidden in Ziva's room, from him, she did indeed start crying almost hysterically.

With a giant yellow bow on the top was a hand-made bassinet that stood at least three and a half feet tall with sturdy legs and a dark, rich stain. The amount of detail put into the bassinet told Abby exactly who made it, as well as the raised eyebrows in Gibbs' direction. He had made the bassinet for her-_their_- baby.

At that point, she lost her breath to tears and everyone was instantly worried.

Ducky was next to her in a flash to check her pulse while everyone else hovered over her. "What's wrong?" McGee asked confused.

"Its just so thoughtful of all of you." She sobbed, trying to catch her breath. "Even you Tony! I didn't expect this." She croaked out.

"It is a right of passage in America, is it not?" Ziva asked.

"Well yeah, but-" Abby half answered.

"No buts, this is your first child and we wanted to make sure you had all of the best experiences." Ziva said smiling more.

"I'm never going to stop crying!" Abby yelled, trying to dry her face.

Eventually, Abby did manage to stop crying, at that point she hugged everyone for at least a minute and gushed about why she loved their gift. She held Gibbs the longest and he didn't say anything but a grin and a nod. Abby knew that was all she was getting out of him at the moment and that was all she really needed. Words were only meant to fill the gaps actions missed, and Gibbs' actions were always louder and greater than words.

There was more food to be eaten before anyone left. Palmer was the first to go because he had a date to get ready for. Tony sulked for the remainder of the party because of it. Evy had to get Tristan home for a project due the next week but helped clean up as much as possible before she did. When Evy left it was close to eight at night and Abby was starting to feel tired. At the stage in her pregnancy, when she started feeling tired it wasn't long before she couldn't move and just passed out where she fell. Everyone seemed to notice and urged her into Gibbs' car and packed her presents around her.

Abby didn't remember the ride, or how she got to her bed, but when she woke up there was the bassinet Gibbs made, right next to her bed, where it fit perfectly. It was still dark when her eyes peeked open and Abby was content to go back to sleep while the baby in her belly decided it didn't want to use her uterus as its own swimming pool and she fell back to sleep with a happy smile on her face, ready to face the remaining days of her pregnancy.

AN: Review!


	14. End of the Road

AN: And here it is! I went a little nuts, its really long. I always love the birth chapter. :P Anyway, after this is where the Gabby will start. I hope you all enjoy! I have to work through the holidays, so I won't get much of a break to write anything and hopefully this holds you guys over for a while. :)

Chapter Fourteen

End of the Road

Abby had spent the past year devouring pregnancy books. She expected every strange scenario her mind could come up with. But, she somehow missed the scenario that actually played out. Though, in her defense, she really hadn't thought far outside of the lab. She was sure that's where it would all go down. She was very wrong.

She had left the Navy Yard for lunch. Evy couldn't go with her because there was a lot of work that needed to be done and Abby and her baby were not giving up lunch for work. All of the team was out in the field and Ducky was up to his elbows in entrails. So, Abby went to lunch alone. She didn't go far, just the little Japanese place a few blocks down. She even managed to walk the way. She got half way through her noodles when she felt the common over whelming urge to use the bathroom. With a roughly eight-pound baby resting solely on her bladder, it was something she was used to.

She let her waiter know she was just using the bathroom and left her table to the two rooms tucked in the back next to the kitchen. She was three feet away from the bathroom when she felt the gush of warm water trickle down her legs with a quiet splash onto the floor. At first, she thought she had lost all control of her bladder, but looking at how much liquid was on the floor, she knew what had happened.

"My water broke!" She yelled happily to the packed restaurant.

Almost everyone stopped with their meal to look at her strangely. A few waiters rushed up to her and the mess at her feet with a disgusted look.

"Don't worry, its nothing gross, sorry about that though." She said looking at the mess as she stepped around it. She looked up and addressed the waiter that had taken her order. "Can I get my food to go?" She asked, still beaming.

Abby walked back to the Navy Yard very carefully with her doggy bag in one hand and holding her parasol in her other hand. When she got into the building she glided through security and went straight to the director's office. His secretary tried to stop her, but Abby was determined.

"Director Vance," She sang happily as she walked into his office.

There were two men dressed in uniform at the table while Director Vance paced. "Ms. Sciuto, I'm in a meeting." He said trying not to show his frustration to his guests.

"I just wanted to let you know, my water broke but I'm staying." She said with a smile.

The two other men stood at attention and Vance looked worried quickly. "Shouldn't you go to the hospital?" He asked concerned.

"Not until I'm in active labor. My doctor told me I only had to go into the hospital when the contractions were at least five minutes apart." She explained surely. She had already discussed all of it with him because she knew how long it could take before she absolutely had to go to the hospital. She really didn't like the thought of being stuck the hospital and wanted to stay away from him as long as possible. "I should probably call him too." She said thoughtfully as she turned and left the befuddled men in her wake.

She made her way down to the lab, munching on the food she had brought with her while she did and didn't pass anyone in the halls. She was a little upset that she didn't have another person to tell until she got down to her lab where Evy was working on the evidence.

"Guess what?" She cheered as she waddled in, sitting in her new computer chair at the analysis computer.

"What?" Evy asked unconcerned as she looked into a microscope.

"My water broke!" Abby answered happily.

Evy stopped and turned to look at Abby strangely. "Should we go?" Evy asked confused.

"No, I'm fine. Besides, they need you and me here right now." Abby answered as she rubbed her belly.

"So what are we going to do when you need to go to the hospital?" Evy asked with a raised brow.

"A Probie can drive me if we have to." Abby answered simply.

"Alright," Evy said unsure.

They continued to work on the evidence that had been brought to them in the case. It was a triple homicide, with triple the evidence. Abby stayed off her feet for the most part just like she always did. It didn't take long for her to start feeling contractions, even if they only started out as slight discomforts. She counted them and timed them just to make sure she knew when it was time to go to the hospital. She hadn't felt anything for almost ten minutes when she felt her entire lower half twist and clench painfully.

"Holy crap!" Abby yelled, grabbing her stomach and keeling over.

"Abby!" Evy said rushing over to her.

"Contraction." Abby breathed, trying to gather herself.

"I guessed," Evy muttered as she crouched in front of her.

"I'm good," Abby said surely, taking in a few deep breaths as she straightened herself.

Abby tried to keep working but her contractions were getting closer and more painful. Within half an hour she couldn't focus on anything. It had come to point where she couldn't speak any more.

"You need to get to the hospital." Evy said seriously.

"I don't want to." Abby mumbled. It had only been a few hours, she wanted to spend a little more time away from the sterilized rooms.

"Come on." Evy pressed, offering her hand to help Abby stand.

Abby couldn't really argue with her and they walked out of the lab and out toward the elevator and was met with Ducky.

"Abigail?" He asked confused.

"She's in labor." Evy answered.

"I'm in labor." Abby confirmed with a pout.

Ducky looked at the both of them in concern. "Can you cover the lab for me while I get her to the hospital?" Evy asked nodding over her shoulder to the lab.

"I can take her." Ducky offered.

"Are you sure?" Evy asked worryingly.

"Yes, Mr. Palmer can handle everything for me, they'll need you to analyze evidence." Ducky said surely.

Evy wasn't entirely convinced with the new plan. "He's a doctor Evy, I think I'll be fine with him." Abby told her reassuringly.

"I'll come as soon as I can." Evy promised, begrudgingly.

Ducky held Abby's arms and walked her to her car. She had everything packed and ready, including the car seat in the back and all of her bags in the trunk. Abby needed help getting into the passengers seat but once she was secure, Ducky got in and started for the hospital.

"Have you let Gibbs know?" Ducky asked as he turned out of the Navy Yard.

"I was hoping to tell him and the team in person." Abby said with a frown.

"You should let them know." Ducky said seriously.

"Okay," She said with a sigh, taking out her phone.

She dialed Gibbs and he answered quickly, like he always did for her.

"Gibbs," She said calmly.

"Yeah Abby," Gibbs asked distracted. She knew he was more than likely in the middle of something and almost took it as an excuse not to tell him, but Ducky's stern look told her other wise.

"Ducky is taking me to the hospital, I'm in labor." She said simply.

There was a long, drawn out silence, almost to a point where Abby was going to check her phone to see if the call had dropped.

"I'll send someone over there." He said gruffly before hanging up.

"Okay then," Abby said to herself as she pocketed her phone.

Ducky gave her an apologetic look and continued on to the hospital. They had to go to a civilian hospital, because that was where her doctor had privileges and Abby knew she was less likely to come across people she knew there.

At the hospital, Ducky offered to drive her straight to the entrance, but she wanted to walk. She knew walking would help progress the labor and it helped her keep her mind off the contractions. They had to park a little ways away from the door and Ducky had to carry her two bags, but he took it in stride. At the entrance, he made her sit in a wheel chair and rolled her up to the front desk.

"How can I help you?" A blonde nurse asked looking between Abby and Ducky.

"I need to have my baby," Abby said tiringly.

It didn't take long to get a room for Abby. Ducky brought all of the things she had from her car to her to help her relax. The nurses had called her doctor for her and everything was well in motion. Ducky managed to talk the hospital staff into waiting to hook her up to all of the monitors after the initial check of the baby.

She had been resting in her bed with Ducky going on about the first baby he delivered when Tony came rushing in.

Sliding through the door, he looked frantically between Ducky and Abby. "Did I miss the kid?" He asked rushed.

Was Abby disappointed that it was Tony instead of Gibbs? Yes. But she was still glad to see a friendly face. "No Tony," She said shaking her head.

Tony relaxed and tried to play cool. "Oh, good." He said with a grin and walked up to Abby's bed said and started asking questions about how she was doing.

Ducky and Tony were with her for three hours with nothing but contractions and random nurses coming to check on her. Tony would need to take a call once and a while, as did Ducky, but other than that, they gave her their full attention.

Evy had called to check on her between test results. McGee had squeezed a short conversation in while Gibbs was driving to a suspect's house, with Ziva giving her well wishes as well. Gibbs had been deathly silent.

It was nearing midnight when her doctor finally came. Ducky had left to get some food and Tony was taking a cat nap on the couch, drooling and snoring.

"Hello Abby," The old man said with a smile. He looked worse for wear, but he still retained his kind disposition toward the pregnant woman before him.

"Hello Dr. Granger," Abby said trying to smile, but only managing a grimace.

"So, your little one is ready to join us I hear." He said as he walked up to her bed.

She nodded tensely, waiting for her contraction to pass and then breathed. "Yup," She said a little more relaxed.

Dr. Granger studied her chart for a moment before looking back at her. "Well, seeing as your due date is tomorrow, I think everything is going great. You're almost five centimeters dilated and the contractions are coming in with good timing. Everything is going smooth." He said surely.

"Great." She said relieved.

He reached out and held her shoulder comfortingly. "I'll be on call, alright?" He told her soothingly.

She nodded, smiling a little. "Okay,"

Dr. Granger gave her a sympathetic look and left the room. Abby sighed and looked down at her stomach. It had various monitors attached to it now, checking her baby's vitals and her contractions. She didn't mind it so much now, her mind was bogged down with the pain of it all to notice much else.

While she was studying her severely expanded belly, Ducky had come back into the room, without the food because she couldn't eat anything. She wanted to thank him for being considerate when a contraction grabbed her again.

"Ducky," She ground out.

The older man walked to her side and quickly took her hand. "Yes, my dear?" He asked sweetly.

"List off the risks for the baby associated with taking pain medication." She begged.

"Alphabetically this time?" He asked, sounding a little excited. He had taken a strange joy to answering her demands of the medical reasons why the baby would be better born without drugs of any kind.

"Sure," Abby gasped as she nodded.

Ducky and Tony spent the next six hours trying to keep Abby calm. It was six in the morning and they had gotten calls from everyone from Director Vance to Evy asking about how she was doing, but they were all still tied up in the case and so it was only Ducky and Tony with her.

They were about as proficient as they could be the new and strange situation. They took turns holding her hands, getting her ice and trying to keep her mind off the pain. Tony had been asking incessant questions about where the baby was going to go to college, what the initials could and couldn't be and trying to get her to name the baby after himself.

"How are we doing?" A nurse asked kindly as she walked into the room.

"Can someone take the kid out already?" Abby yelled as her answer.

"No, you don't want the caesarian-section, remember?" Ducky pointed out sweetly.

"Yes, I do!" Abby yelled.

"Ma'am?" the nurse asked confused.

"I don't, I don't. It just hurts a lot." Abby cried.

The nurse started the exam, Tony and Ducky were standing next to Abby for privacy and were used to it by now. The nurse covered Abby's legs and looked at the expectant mother with a smile. "Well, it looks like your at ten centimeters we can call the doctor." She said surely.

"Please yes!" Abby cried.

It was half an hour later before Dr. Granger was able to get to the hospital. He looked a little more rested now, but it was still six-thirty in the morning. Ducky and Tony had been through worse nights and were holding up well. Abby ordered them to go get breakfast when her doctor arrived and they listened willingly, making calls to the team as they left.

"Alright, so, it looks like your baby is being stubborn." Dr. Granger said after he looked at her chart and the readings from the machines she was attached to.

"Just like the father." She muttered to herself.

Dr. Granger smiled a little. "We can give you medicine to push the labor along, but the baby's vitals are fine, so it's your choice." He explained to her.

"No, its okay, I'll be fine." She said shaking her head, not wanting to force any drugs she wouldn't need.

"I think the baby might get that stubbornness from you." He told her knowingly.

Abby chuckled for the first time in eight hours.

"I'll be making rounds, a nurse will get me when you're ready for the hard part." He told her patting her knee before he left.

The news that she was going to be giving birth in the immediate future didn't dawn on her until she had been alone for a few minutes. It was something that hit her like a truck, the thought of birthing another human being. It was the end result she had been hoping for since she started all of it, but she never had thought so far into it as she did after the doctor confirmed her progress.

Tony and Ducky walked into the room with Abby out of her bed and pacing like an anxious dog.

"You okay Abbs?" Tony asked worryingly as they rushed up to her.

"No!" She yelled.

"Yeah, stupid question." Tony said sheepishly.

"I'm giving birth! To a person!" She said frantically. "I thought I had wrapped my mind around the concept, but I haven't and I'm freaking out!" She said honestly as she held the only bare spot on her stomach.

Ducky walked to her and touched her shoulder. "Abigail, you must relax, everything will be fine." He tried to tell her calmly.

Abby didn't take the advice well. She was still panicking. But before her mind could dwell much longer she was taken by a contraction and for once, she was happy to have the mind-splitting pain to distract her from her thoughts.

Tony and Ducky got her back in bed and soothed her strange musing as much as they could while the labor progressed. But they didn't have long to work at it because, within twenty minutes, she yelled a sobering sentence.

"The baby is coming!" Abby cried as she clenched Ducky and Tony's hands with all of her power and felt the instinctual need to bear down and push her child out.

"What? Now?" Tony asked panicking.

"Now!" She confirmed.

"I'll get a nurse." Ducky said calmly and Abby forced herself to let go of him so he could.

"I'll get – I don't know, what should I get?" Tony asked dumbly.

"Nothing," She hissed, clutching his hand tight enough to make his face twist in pain.

Tony was alone with Abby for three, painful, minutes before Ducky returned with a mass of nurses and Dr. Granger. Ducky quickly resumed the spot he had left but Abby didn't let up on Tony's hand.

"Someone ready to join us?" He asked.

"Yes!" Abby yelled, nodding quickly.

"Alright then," He said coolly and a flurry of movement started.

Nurses started flooding in to set up the room. Dr. Granger sterilized himself with two other nurses and covered himself with paper gowns and gloves. The room was complete in minutes and all but the two nurses left with Tony and Ducky standing at Abby's side while Dr. Granger rolled to the end of her bed with her legs propped up in stirrups and looked at her between her knees.

"We're ready whenever you are." He told her confidently.

Abby only had to wait until her next contraction to start pushing. She took in a deep breath and bore down with all of her strength, forcing Ducky and Tony to her level as she gripped their hands.

"Good Abby!" Dr. Granger coached.

With the next contraction, Abby did the same and did so for the next five minutes. She was already dead tired but she couldn't stop seeing the preverbal 'light at the end of the tunnel', her baby. That was her goal, and nothing mortal was stopping her from reaching it.

"Alright, you've got one more push and you're officially a mother." Dr. Granger told her happily.

If Abby had needed any help, it would have been that statement, but she was powered as it was. With a long, guttural yell, Abby pushed again and felt her child leave her body, only to be held up by her doctor. With a pale, slimy body, two long arms and two long legs, ten fingers, ten toes, a full head of black hair and a healthy set of lungs, and a little 'johnson' swinging in the breeze, Abby could only cry happily.

"It's a boy." She cried, reaching out for him. Dr. Granger laid her son on her chest and the nurses started covering him in blankets.

With her tired, heavy arms, she held her son close to her. He was still wailing at the top of his lungs, but Abby was crying as well. He was perfect to her. He had her lips, cheekbones and ears. He had stopped wriggling in her arms while his cries died down.

Ducky kissed the side of her head. "Good job Abigail." He murmured.

Tony was floored, he couldn't open his mouth to say one word, all he could do was stare at Abby's newborn baby.

"Who wants to cut the cord?" Dr. Granger asked as he looked between Tony and Ducky. Abby looked at the two men that probably had some fractures in their hands and had been with her through the whole process. She was sure they earned the right to do so.

"It's all you Duck," Tony said quickly.

"I've already had the honor," Ducky said smiling.

"You can't mess up Tony." Abby said laughingly.

"You say that now." Tony muttered as he took the scissors from Dr. Granger.

With all care, Tony gently snipped between the clamps and waited for something horrible to happen afterward. The baby didn't even move. Tony let out a sigh of relief as he gave the scissors to the doctor. Abby smiled at him and patted his arm with her spare hand.

"Alright, one last push from you Abby." Dr. Granger said.

Abby took in a deep breath and gave the last push she had in her and expelled the placenta from her body. She sighed, feeling like she had just lost thirty pounds instantly.

"What is that?" Tony asked horrified.

"The placenta," Ducky answered for everyone in the room.

"Gross." Tony gagged.

"It's being frozen," Abby said weakly, feeling more and more tired.

"They know." Dr. Granger assured her.

"Good," Abby said smiling.

"Why?" Tony asked utterly confused.

"Because, it's full of his cells that could be used to help him if he ever gets sick." Abby answered simply as she ran her finger across her son's forehead.

"What's _his_ name anyway?" Tony asked leaning over to get a better look at him.

"I'm not sure yet." She said with knitted brows. She had thought of dozens of names, but looking at her baby, she couldn't decide which one fit him best.

"Ms. Sciuto," A nurse said sweetly. Abby looked up at her. "We need to measure and weigh him."

Abby nodded and slowly passed her son to the nurse. Ducky followed the young woman as she took the baby to the weigh station.

"Eight pounds even." The nurse told them before she stretched his legs out and measured his length. "And twenty-two inches long." She said as she wrapped him back in his delivery blanket.

"He's gonna be tall like his Mamma," Tony said surely.

The nurse took the baby back to Abby as soon as she had wrapped the blanket around him.

"When do you need to do the tests?" Abby asked almost sadly.

"Soon," The nurse answered.

"Okay," Abby sighed with a nod. She didn't like the thought of it but she accepted that it needed to be done.

"I'll give you a moment." The nurse said with a kind smile as she walked out of the room.

Laying with her son, Abby felt like she still needed to do something.

"Can I get a phone?" Abby asked looking between Tony and Ducky.

"Here," Tony said handing his phone over quickly.

Abby smiled her thanks and dialed Gibbs first. "Gibbs," She heard him answer gruffly.

She only had one thing her mind could come up with. "It's a boy,"

Abby guessed she had to have been on speakerphone because she heard several voice erupt. Ziva and McGee started congratulating her and she even hear Evy start laughing about the luck of them both having boys first. But Gibbs was silent until they all stopped talking.

"We'll be there soon Abbs, you did good." Gibbs said simply.

To most people, they would be pretty insulted at his simple statement. But that was just Gibbs, and that was almost the highest praise he could give, the only other had to be done in person and she didn't mind much. She handed the phone back to Tony and closed her eyes.

AN: Review!


	15. First Meet

AN: WHOA. I feel dumb. This has been ready for months. I feel like a retard. Here it is! Please don't harm me. Yes I'm still alive, I'm just a college student, so I'm only really half alive but its still mostly alive.

Chapter Fifteen

First Meet

Gibbs got himself and Ziva to the hospital in fifteen minutes. They had to leave McGee and Evy just to continue working on the case while the two of the squeezed in the visit before going after another suspect.

There were a million thoughts going through his head. He didn't have the same excitement he did when Kelly was born. There was more anxiety this time around because of the different situation he was in now. But even with his indifference, he wanted to make sure his son was okay.

At the hospital Gibbs made his way to the unfamiliar floor of the hospital with Ziva close on his trail. Walking through the halls they saw Tony shuffling his feet in a nervous manner. Gibbs almost lost his mind, thinking of all the horrible things that could have happened to Abby and his son.

Tony turned around and Gibbs was relieved for a moment when he saw a bundle of blue in his senior agent's arms. "Look Boss! Cute isn't he?" Tony asked grinning as he rocked the baby.

Ziva looked confused while Gibbs covered the ground between them and looked down at the baby in Tony's arms. He was sleeping peacefully, with his little hands tucked under his chin, wrapped tightly in a blanket. He felt oddly relieved seeing Tony holding his kid. "Where's Abby?" He asked looking around.

"Getting examined, Ducky is with her for moral support and all, but after the placenta, I wasn't ready for whatever else childbirth entailed." Tony answered as he nodded at the door in front of him and shuddering as he spoke the words.

The door opened and Ducky walked out. "Hello Jethro," Ducky said surprised.

"How's she doing?" Gibbs asked quickly.

"As to be expected, she would like her child back though." Ducky said looking at Tony pointedly.

"Oh, right." Tony said stupidly, starting to walk toward the room.

"I got it." Gibbs said, deftly plucking the baby from Tony's awkward hold and carrying him into the room, alone.

Taking the baby wasn't something he planned on, it was just something he did out of instinct. He was longer than Kelly had been, with thicker, darker hair than her. He could see a lot of Abby in the baby, but also a little bit of himself. Gibbs could see his nose on the baby, even his eyes.

He walked into the room, still studying his son and Abby's surprised voice brought him back to reality. "Gibbs," She said shocked, but happily so.

He quickly passed the baby to his mother and took a step away from the bed. "You named him yet?" He asked shoving his hands in his pockets.

Abby sat up more, cradling her baby close and shook her head. "No," She answered with a slight frown. "I was thinking about Jax as his middle name." She said, looking from her baby to Gibbs.

Gibbs looked at her without any kind of reaction.

"After your dad," She clarified. He looked a little taken back. "He's always really nice and when I've needed fatherly advice, he's always been there when I need him." She said with a little smile as she looked down at her son.

"It's a good name." He said with a nod.

Abby smiled brightly.

"Any first names?" He asked amused.

"Uh, still working on that." She said with a twisted face.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out." He said leaning over and kissing her clammy forehead.

"Are you leaving?" She asked sadly.

"Case is still open." He told her with a sigh.

"Oh," She murmured, forgetting that something was happening other than the birth of her own child.

"We'll close it as soon as possible. Ziva will be staying so Tony and Ducky can go home." Gibbs said surely.

"Okay," She said with a small nod.

Gibbs nodded at her and then turned and left the room, glancing for a split second at the baby before he was gone. Outside in the hallway Tony, Ducky and Ziva were waiting for him.

"Ziva, you stay." He said with a nod over his shoulder back to Abby's door.

Ziva nodded and walked toward the room, patting Tony's shoulder as she passed.

"You two need to go home, get some sleep and get back to work when you're ready." He ordered to Tony and Ducky.

"Got it Boss," Tony said and almost walked out of the hospital but stopped and popped into say goodbye to Abby and the baby.

"Jethro, might I ask why that baby has you so turned around?" Ducky asked inquisitively.

"It doesn't." Gibbs grumbled.

"_He_ doesn't. He is a person Jethro. He's not hidden in his mother's womb anymore. I believe you still trying to come to terms with how Abby made her son." Ducky said quickly and quietly.

"Ducky, leave it alone." Gibbs almost growled.

Tony walked right out into the hallway and onto the scene and stopped for a moment before ducking his head to make sure there was no eye contact. "Okay Boss, leaving now." Tony said as he whizzed past him.

Gibbs turned and left Ducky without another word, feeling slightly annoyed that Ducky had tried to confront him. Gibbs knew, though, that if anyone was going to catch onto the fact that Gibbs was still feeling awkward about the entire situation, it was going to be Ducky. Gibbs also knew that one day the truth would come out, because it always did, whether he told or Abby, or something else gave it away.

Everyone would know that the baby was his son at some point. And that's what he couldn't deal with.

Ziva sat on Abby's hospital bed, rubbing the baby's leg and watching her close friend with her godson. "He is beautiful Abby," She said smiling.

"Thanks," Abby said happily.

Ziva could only smile more. "Still having trouble picking his name?" She asked Abby.

"I just can't pin it! I know it's in my head somewhere, but I can't find it." She said with a frustrated sigh.

"When you look at him, what do you think of?" Ziva asked wisely.

"A lot of things," Abby muttered, hoping Ziva didn't pry the real answer out of her. Gibbs.

"What letter?" Ziva asked, trying to help narrow the field.

"Huh?" Abby asked confused.

"What letter do you think of, predominantly." Ziva clarified.

"Um, the letter 'a', I guess." Abby said with a shrug.

"Why?" Ziva asked curiously.

"Because he's first now. And 'a' is always first." Abby said surely.

"Now just think of names that begin with 'a'." Ziva said simply.

"You know Ziva, sometimes you have the best ideas." Abby said thankfully.

"I am glad I could help." Ziva said happily.

Ziva stayed for a few hours, until Gibbs called. Ziva was going to wait until someone else could join Abby, but the forensic scientist told her to leave. She had her son and she was perfectly content with his company.

The nurses and the doctors tended to their tests and then returned her son to her. It didn't take very long and Abby was glad for it. It was closing in on dinner time and Abby was starting to feel hungry. She thought about buzzing a nurse when the door opened and Tristan waltzed in, like he was supposed to be there.

"Hey Abby," Tristan said nonchalantly.

"Tristan, what are you doing here?" Abby asked confused.

"Mom isn't home, so she told me to take the bus to the hospital." Tristan told her simply.

"Okay," Abby said awkwardly, watching as Tristan took off his backpack and dropped it on the floor then sat on the bed next to Abby and peered over her arm to the baby.

"Is that the baby?" He asked curiously.

"Yep, it's a boy." Abby said smiling.

"Cool, can I hold him?" He asked with a quick smile.

"Uh, sure." She said unsure.

Tristan skillfully accepted the baby into his arms and held him like a seasoned pro, rocking him slightly when he started to squirm when he left his mother's arms. Abby hovered closely for a few minutes, reaching out to cradle her sons head, but there was no need with Tristan holding the baby's head secure in the crook of his arm.

"You're really good at this." Abby said amazed.

"Mom's old roommate had a few kids." He said simply, shrugging.

"Oh," Abby said feeling a little slow.

"What's his name?" He asked as he bounced the baby gently.

"I'm still working on that." She said, beginning to relax.

"So, what are we supposed to call him?" He asked confused.

"Just give a me a little bit, I'll figure it out." She said laughingly.

"Name him something cool, like me." He told her with a smile.

Abby smiled at him and relaxed in her bed.

Tristan kept her company for the remainder of the day. The nurses brought him dinner while he was showing off his swaddling skills. Abby learned a few things from him about babies and made a mental note to tell Evy about it when she saw her again. Her son was a calm baby and didn't make too much of a fuss until he was hungry or needed to be changed.

After he ate, Tristan worked on his homework at the little table in the hospital room, silently, while Abby took a nap with her son in the basinet next to her. Abby had been sleeping for an hour when the door creaked open. Tristan didn't pay attention to the door, because he thought it was a nurse coming in, but instead Gibbs walked in.

Gibbs was supposed to be somewhere else entirely, but he needed to come back to the hospital to check on both Abby and the baby, just to make sure that they were okay. He didn't expect to see Tristan and wondered if it was Evy's doing that he was there.

"Mr. Gibbs?" Tristan asked confused.

"Its just Gibbs," Gibbs corrected as he walked further into the room.

"Oh," Tristan muttered.

"What're you workin' on?" Gibbs asked as he glanced over at Tristan's work on the table.

"Science, its easy, but I have to finish all of it by tomorrow." Tristan muttered, sighing loudly.

"Ah," Gibbs said with a little smile, remembering when Kelly would fidget at the table with her homework. "How long have they been sleeping?" He asked looking back at Abby as she slept with her hand in the bassinet and resting on her son.

"A while," Tristan said with a shrug.

"You taking good care of them?" Gibbs asked with a hint of seriousness.

"Yep," Tristan said proudly.

"Good," Gibbs said smiling. "I'll be back later, you can call me if you need to, okay?" He asked, handing Tristan a card with his cell phone number from his back pocket.

"Okay," Tristan said as he looked at the card awkwardly.

Tristan watched as Gibbs walked up to Abby and smoothed her hair then down the baby and held his little fist for a moment before he left. Tristan was confused, but just shrugged his shoulders and went back to his homework.

It was dark when his mother came rushing in. She was frazzled and her eyes were panicked. She was completely out of disarray. Tristan looked at his mother in confusion.

"Mom you look crazy." Tristan said bluntly.

"It's been a long day." She said defensively. "How's everything here?" She asked as she looked over to Abby and then to the baby.

"Fine, just like I told Gibbs." Tristan said, rolling his eyes a little.

"When was Gibbs here?" Evy asked with a raised brow.

"A few hours ago." He answered with a little shrug.

Evy had a million thoughts buzzing in her mind now, but she didn't voice them, not to her son at least. "Lets get you home." She said as she ruffled his hair.

"But who's going to watch out for Abby and the baby?" He said, worried.

Evy smiled, beside herself, even sleep deprived and stressed, her son being over protective was still adorable. "I'll let the nurses know." She promised.

"I told Gibbs I'd watch over them." He muttered, looking sad.

"We can call him and let him know your leaving." She offered.

"Okay." He said with a little nod.

Evy handed her phone over to him and he dialed the number Gibbs gave him. Gibbs answered on the third ring. "Gibbs," He answered blankly.

"Its Tristan, I have to leave the hospital now, my mom says so." Tristan told Gibbs like it was an order from the president.

"Better listen to your mom. You did good, I'll take it from here." Gibbs said with softness in his voice.

"Okay, bye." Tristan muttered and handed the phone back to his mother. "He's got it." He murmured, feeling sad that he wasn't needed any more.

"We'll be by tomorrow." Evy swore while she ruffled his hair. He nodded and started packing his things. Evy went to Abby's bedside and kissed the top of her and the baby's head. Tristan had his backpack stuffed and walked over to his mother so he could do the same, kissing the baby soundly before they left.

"Can I get a little brother?" Tristan asked absently as they walked through the hospital.

"I like my uterus the way it is, thank you." Evy answered bluntly, making Tristan's nose scrunch at the word.

AN: An ending is in sight and it should be within the next 5- 10 chapters. Review!


	16. Homeward

AN: Boy, I haven't been here in a while. I'm trying to throw myself back into these stories to get them wrapped up before I get my AA. I'm hoping to wrap this story up with a nice little bow in the next 6 chapters, I think everyone will be happy. Either way I will be happy. Thank you all again for the support and I hope you all enjoy!

Chapter Sixteen

Homeward

Abby only needed to spend another night in the hospital before she was released. She had dreamt of the babies name in her sleep and was named Anton Jax Scuito. Everyone loved the name, or at least didn't voice any quarrels with the new mother. She was so proud of her boy. Tony was the one to drive them home. Ziva ended up riding with them as well since Abby sat in the back of the sedan with Anton.

"He's so peaceful." Abby cooed as she looked down at her sleeping son in his car seat. Tony had been driving at his very best and almost had a police detail lead them but Abby told him not to.

"Has he cried yet?" Tony asked confused as he kept his eyes on the road.

"Not really, just a little fussy when he's hungry or tired." Abby said shaking her head.

"That's very fortunate." Ziva said with a smile. She had spent most of the ride turned toward them in the front seat.

"I am loving it." Abby sighed as Tony pulled into the parking garage of the apartment.

Tony got out of the car first and opened the back door. "Alright, I'll get the baby, doctor said no heavy lifting for you Abbs and that thing is like sixty pounds of steel." He declared.

"It's fifteen actually." Abby corrected.

"Uh huh." Tony grunted as he lifted the car seat up and out of the car carefully. Ziva and Abby carried the bags into the apartment and Abby wasn't very surprised to see Tristan waiting.

"Hey Abby!" Tristan said excitedly as he ran from the dining room table.

"Hey, how was school?" Abby asked as she put down the bags and went to the table where Tony had set the car seat to get Anton out.

"Boring." Tristan said as he made a face.

Abby took Anton from Tony and could feel he needed a diaper change. "Would you like to change Anton?" She offered.

"Sure," Tristan said excitedly and allowed Abby to carefully place the baby in his arms and walked down the hall to the baby's room.

"It's like a live in nanny service." Abby said happily as she kicked off her shoes.

"Close enough." Ziva chuckled.

"Need anything else Abbs?" Tony asked as he looked around the clean house.

"No, I think me and Tristan can handle everything for now. I'm sure you guys have a lot of paperwork." Abby said sympathetically.

Ziva and Tony groaned together.

Abby laughed and walked over to them, hugging them both tightly. "Thank you both for everything." She said happily.

Tony and Ziva had no choice but to hug back but were very gentle with the new mother. "You're welcome Abby, please let us know if you need anything." Ziva insisted.

"I think I'll be good with Tristan's help for now and I'm sure Evy will be following soon." Abby assured her friends as she released them.

"McGee will probably be coming by with Gibbs and Ducky and maybe even Palmer." Tony said.

Abby couldn't wait to see the rest of her team and for them all to spend quality time with Anton. "Good, now you two get going!" She ordered, pushing them toward the door.

"Don't we get to say goodnight to Anton?" Tony asked with a pout.

"Oh, yes!" Abby said feeling silly. She hadn't even thought about it.

Tony and Ziva went to the room Tristan had disappeared into and Abby followed close behind. Tristan had put Anton in his crib while he started organizing the stuffed animals away from him. Tony and Ziva went straight to the crib but Ziva was faster and scooped him up first. She cooed something to him in her native tongue that Abby didn't understand before kissing him on the forehead and passing him to Tony.

Tony arranged Anton's hair and promised to be back soon with some movies to watch with him and gave him a self-imposed high five before handing him to Abby.

"See you later Abbs." Tony said with a wave as they both left.

"Bye!" Abby called out. "Can you lock up behind them?" Abby asked Tristan.

He nodded and left the room.

Abby looked down at Anton who had taken being passed around in stride and was just laying comfortably in his mother's arms. She smiled seeing him so calm around those she loved.

Tristan came back into the room with his homework in his hands. "Can I do my science in here?" He asked hopefully.

"How about I set him up in the living room, and you watch him while I shower?" She offered.

"Yeah!" Tristan said excited.

Abby and Tristan worked together to get Anton's pack-n-play up and ready. When Anton was peacefully at rest she felt comfortable enough to leave Tristan alone with him to take a much needed shower. Before she went into her room she glanced at Tristan, who was sitting calmly on the couch with his science book in his lap and Anton was asleep again.

Abby shook her head at her own worry and went into her bathroom for her first proper shower in days. She was glad to have her shampoo back and her favorite body scrub. She was planning on taking her time, but she was too nervous. When she reached down to where her Anton had been resting for the past nine months she only felt her still slightly swollen stomach.

When her shower was finished she went through her normal routine of lotion, applying a special lotion to her stomach for stretch marks and to help the skin retract and brushed out her hair. She only put on comfortable leggings and a big USMC shirt she reallocated from Gibbs, with a tight band around her stomach to help the process of her body going back to normal.

Abby walked out of her room and went to the living room, expecting to see Tristan still on the couch, but Evy had shown up and Tristan was at the dining room table. Evy was leaning on the pack-n-play, looking down at Anton.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Abby asked, huffing a little.

Evy smiled. "You will need all the time you can get. How do you feel?" She asked concerned.

"Tired, but in a happy sort of way." Abby answered with a giggle.

"Ah, yes, the afterglow." Evy said knowingly.

Abby sat down next to Evy looking down at Anton. "How is my lab?" She asked curiously.

"Still in one piece, nothing out of order." Evy promised.

"And is everyone being nice?" Abby asked hopefully.

"Yeah, I know they miss you, but they are friendly enough." Evy answered honestly.

"That's good, because I want you to be at home there." Abby said, missing her lab as she thought about it.

"So, I was thinking me and Tristan hang out here to help and all that. Its closer to work and his school than my place anyway." Evy said quickly.

"That would be wonderful, thank you." Abby said, almost to tears as she hugged Evy.

"Good, because I already brought my stuff anyway." Evy laughed.

Tristan ended up being the one who brought in the bags while Evy shared her tips on regaining her shape and what to expect after the birth. Abby was grateful that Evy was helping her, even though she knew that the team would be helping her as much too. It was nice to have another woman around who already knew what to expect, for the most part.

The rest of the day was very relaxing. They watched a movie after dinner and after Tristan finished his homework, then Abby helped set up the living room for them since Evy had to wake up early. Abby took Anton to her room and watched some more TV while he slept in the cradle next to her bed.

Abby was almost afraid to sleep and kept up with Anton's feedings throughout the night, only sleeping for a few hours at a time. Before she knew it Evy was up and making breakfast for everyone. Anton was sleeping again so Abby crept out of her room and into the kitchen. Tristan was using the second bathroom and Evy was making pancakes.

"Can I use your bathroom when I'm done with these?" Evy asked desperately.

"Of course." Abby said with a nod.

"Did you sleep at all?" Evy asked as she looked Abby over.

"Not much, still settling into this whole mommy thing." Abby said awkwardly.

"I know, its weird." Evy said with a face.

They all ate breakfast together and Evy and Tristan showered Anton with kisses before they both left for the day. Tristan had cleaned the kitchen before they left, and Evy had turned the living room back to normal, so Abby had nothing to do.

She settled on sleeping with Anton some more, while he did anyway since she knew it didn't last long. She managed to get enough of a nap to feel rested and after she fed Anton she decided to bathe him.

She carried Anton to his room and started looking for the bath tub she knew she had. "I don't remember where I put it." Abby said aloud.

Anton was laying peacefully on her shoulder, with a full belly and not a care in the world. She smiled at his calm demeanor and wondered if the bathtub was in the kitchen closet since that was where she planned to bathe him. She left the room and when she went toward the kitchen she was met with Gibbs, standing awkwardly in her living room.

"Gibbs." She said happily.

"Hey Abby," He said with a small twitch of his lips. "How're you feeling?" He asked as he fidgeted in his spot.

"Better than I'm sure I am supposed to be. You have great timing, I was going to bathe him, but I can't find his bathtub." Abby rushed, shaking her head.

"You don't need that." Gibbs said surely.

He walked past her before she could disagree and into Anton's room where he came back with a hooded towel, the baby soap, and a wash cloth.

"Get a big towel." Gibbs said as he went into the kitchen and turned the sink on.

She wanted to argue with him, but he was actively helping her with the son she asked him to make almost against his wishes. She wasn't going to ruin it now so she went to the hall closet and got her biggest, blackest towel and brought it to him. He had already filled up the sink with tepid water and laid the larger towel in the sink to pad it against the metal.

"Its ready for him." Gibbs said nodding to Anton on her shoulder.

Abby smiled at him and carefully undid Anton's diaper and when he was completely naked, lowered him into the water, keeping her hand on his neck. "Can you soap up the wash cloth for me?" She asked as she splashed Anton with water.

Anton's eyes were fluttering and he didn't seem mind the fact that he was naked and in water. Abby smiled at him and before she could accept the wash cloth from Gibbs he was already washing down Anton.

She looked between Gibbs and Anton and was amazed with his gentleness with Anton. She knew how deadly Gibbs could be, but seeing his strong hands transition effortlessly into the gentle man before her almost made her wonder if she was seeing things.

"He's a happy kid." Gibbs noted when he was finished and he dropped the cloth in the water.

"And calm, I don't know where he got that from." Abby laughed while she rinsed Anton off.

Gibbs was painfully silent while Abby cleaned Anton of any soap suds and prepared the towel for her. She picked up Anton from the water and Gibbs quickly wrapped him in the towel and Abby drew him to her chest as soon as he was fully covered.

"I'll get this." Gibbs said simply as he started cleaning up the area.

Abby wordlessly padded to Anton's room. She lathered the baby lotion on him as quickly as she could, worried that Gibbs would slip out while she wasn't looking and rushed out as soon as Anton was in a sleeper, missing two of the snaps. But Gibbs was still there, leaning against the back of the couch.

He eyed Anton's sleeper and walked up to her to correct it. "Thank you," Abby said with a smile. "For everything Gibbs." She added firmly, hoping he understood everything she meant because she was still too hormonal to talk about it without crying.

Gibbs wrapped an arm around her and pressed a kiss to her temple as he hugged her as tightly as he could, not having to say a word.

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	17. Meltdown and Blowouts

AN: Just on a roll tonight I guess. I don't know why my family is making me wake up ungodly early to fix roof shingles. Glorious. I hope you all enjoy the little gem while I try to sleep and not kill myself on the roof tomorrow.

Chapter Seventeen

Meltdowns and Blowouts

Abby was showered in help for the first three weeks Anton was home. Her house seldom not filled with a guest or two. Everyone loved Anton and gushed at opportunities to take care of him. Tony even went with them on a shopping trip and discovered how much more attractive he became to women, just by holding his godson like a football while discussing chili options with him. Ziva spent a lot of her time with Anton telling him Israeli legends in her native language. McGee liked to tell Anton about the cartoons of 'his day'. Ducky and Palmer liked to shower him in case details and old stories. Gibbs was more for just popping in and helping with a random task or two before ducking out again.

After the third week Abby decided she needed to learn how to take care of Anton without all the extra help and sent home Evy and Tristan. She liked having her own place to share with just Anton and she spent a peaceful week with him, until one particularly difficult evening.

It didn't start out very well, Abby had burnt dinner while she was nursing and Anton had a lot more spit up than normal. She took it in stride. She cleaned up Anton and settled on a bowl of cereal for dinner but she couldn't get the burnt smell out of the house no matter what she tried which lead to getting a headache.

Normally she would have been able to sleep it off with Anton fed and content but he had a bought of painful gas and she tried everything she could to get him to burp more while he cried, making her headache worse which only fried her nerves more.

When she was finally able to get him to burp again, it was with even more spit up, enough to make Abby gag a little and Anton still wasn't settled. She ended up stripping down and breastfeeding him with just a bra and sweat-shorts so she could at least shower quickly while he slept.

She took extra care to burp him to make sure he didn't get any gas. He finished without issue and Abby was started to feel better. She put him down on her bed for a moment to get her robe that was hanging on her bed when Anton spit up, again.

She tried her best to maintain herself, but she made a frustrated noise anyway. She picked Anton up off her bed, which was splattered with regurgitated formula, and moved him to his cradle and went to get a new sheet set from her closet.

While digging through her closet, she realized she didn't have any other sheets. With a throbbing head and the smell of baby puke surrounding her, she felt her resolve slipping. She was thinking about calling McGee and borrowing some of his sheets, or just having him buy her more sheets when a thick, foul smell hit her nose. She peered out of her bathroom and found Anton sitting in the liquid like greenish poop that had spread out across his cradle, but he had fallen asleep.

She bit her lip, to keep herself from waking up Anton but she felt completely overwhelming. She was covered in caked spit up, her bed was taken over by the same, with a raging migraine and the smell of burnt cod and newborn diarrhea filling the air. She took her cell phone and left the room, going to the front door so she could still hear Anton if he cried and called the only person she had in mind.

"Abby what's wrong?" Gibbs strong voice asked alertly, even at midnight on a Monday.

"Anton is sitting in his own filth, I'm covered in baby puke, I don't have any other sheets, I can't get rid of this headache, I can't get rid of the smell of my burnt dinner and I think I might throw up." She cried, trying to keep her voice down.

"I'll be right over." He said calmly and the line went dead.

Abby took the next few minutes to compose herself. She tried to take deep breaths and steady herself but her headache was not getting any better and she felt like a horrible mother. She was in tears when Gibbs showed up. He walked in with the spare key he had and found her a mess on the floor.

He crouched down in front of her after he closed the door since she was only wearing sweat-shorts and a nursing bra, and wiped the tears on her face away. "To the showers." He ordered.

She sniffled and nodded. He helped her to her feet and guided her to her bathroom, taking away any clothes that had baby vomit on them.

Abby took a cold shower, keeping her head under the icy stream as long as she could before her nipples frozen off. Her head didn't hurt so bad then. She washed her hair and when she got out of the shower she was amazed that the vomit smell was gone. She wrapped her hair up and put on her robe and inspected her room. Anton was the first thing Abby saw in her room, he was on Gibbs' shoulder while he one handedly made her bed with freshly washed sheets.

The cradle was empty but she didn't mind since the smell of everything was gone. Anton was gurgling looking completely content. Abby let out a sigh of relief.

Gibbs turned around when he was done with the last corner and gave her an encouraging smile. "Better?" He asked knowingly.

"So much." Abby said relieved. "I'm sorry I panicked on you." She muttered guiltily.

Gibbs chuckled a little. "Everyone needs help sometimes Abbs." He said with a comforting smile.

"Not you." She pointed out as she walked around him to sit on her clean bed.

He passed Anton back to her and kissed her forehead. "Even me." He murmured.

Abby cradled Anton and watched him as he started to drift to sleep, without losing any other bodily fluids. "Could you stay? Just tonight?" She pled.

He couldn't look Abby in the eye because then he really wouldn't have the ability to say anything but yes and instead looked down at Anton. His eyes were starting to flutter shut and he was just as tired as his mother. Gibbs sighed and nodded. "Yeah," He murmured.

Abby smiled at him. "Thank you Gibbs, for everything." She told him earnestly.

"Lay down with him." Gibbs ordered as he left the room.

Abby cuddled with Anton, for a few minutes until she was sure he was sleeping and then quickly changed while Gibbs was out in the kitchen area. With a huge t-shirt on and comfortable undies she crawled back in bed with Anton and he was awoken by her movements.

Abby snatched her remote quickly and turned on M*A*S*H because he fell asleep so quickly to the old TV show. They watched TV for some time before Abby drifted to sleep, peacefully.

She didn't know what woke her up, but when she was jostled awake she realized the TV was off and it was still dark out. She felt Anton still next to her and wondered if Gibbs had kept his promise to stay.

She sat up gently, getting ready to go examine the living area when a hand rest on her shoulder from the other side of her bed.

"Lay down Abby." Gibbs grumbled with a tired voice.

Abby froze and looked through the darkness as she settled back down. She could barely make out his frame, but she could tell he was laying close to Anton, with his shoes off and resting comfortably.

Once she confirmed that Gibbs was going to indeed keep his promise she closed her eyes with a smile on her face and went back to sleep from the exhausting day.

When she woke up again it was morning and Anton was squirming in bed and she could smell food cooking in the kitchen. Gibbs wasn't in the room, but she would bet anything he was behind the smell of eggs and bacon and she was fine with that. She breast fed Anton and changed him before walking out into the living room.

Gibbs was working intently in the kitchen and Abby was sure she would have been able to sneak up on him if Anton hadn't have gurgled unexpectedly.

Gibbs peered over his shoulder and smiled at them. "Morning sleepyheads." He commented with a grin.

Abby smiled at him easily. "Thanks again for staying Gibbs." She gushed.

"No problem Abby, you've got better food anyway." He said with a smirk.

Abby laughed and put Anton in his swing so she could clear off the dining room table to sit down properly with Gibbs. They ate together with Anton peacefully watching over them. Gibbs ran down what managed to clean and handed her a shopping bag with another matching sheet set. Abby laughed at him again and hugged him for five straight minutes before letting him go.

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	18. To Return

AN: Its pretty hilarious that I updated the same story twice in a row. But since I'm so close to finishing this one, I probably will give this more attention. I still hope it appeases you and that you enjoy this newest chapter. :)

Chapter Eighteen

To Return

Abby was torn when it was time to return to her lab. She had found a great daycare for Anton, very close to the Navy Yard and had great reviews. Evy had gotten another job in a nearby lab, working full-time and enrolled Tristan in the same daycare after school. That Monday morning Abby woke up feeling even more conflicted.

Anton was still sleeping so she took her shower quickly and prepared herself for her first day back. She had already packed a bag for Anton the night before and had his bottles waiting in the fridge in an insulated bag. When she had everything packed for herself and Anton she went to his cradle and found him awake.

"Good morning little man." She told him with a smile.

She changed him into a predetermined outfit, a black onesie and black pants, and fed him before getting him into his car seat. She was able to balance him and all the bags enough to lock her apartment and get him into the car.

Driving with Anton was still nerve-wracking for her but she managed. The daycare was just opening when she arrived. She took her time getting Anton and his things and brought him into the reception room. The woman she had spoken to the most, Anna, walked up to her with a smile.

"Good morning Abby, hello Anton." She said with a little wave to him as he slept.

"I just wanted to make sure that you had all of the information correctly.

"The list of those who could visit and pick up Anton was confirmed via email with all of them, and all of the identification was confirmed from the NCIS database with our daycare. We have all of the numbers and the order in which they are to be called. Its going to be fine Abby." Anna listed expertly with a calming smile to the younger woman.

Abby sighed. "I know, this just sucks." She frowned as she passed Anton in his car seat to Anna, along with his bag. Anna set him on the counter near the check in table and Abby signed him in the log and then unbuckled him while Anna put his bag in one of the cubbies.

"I'll be back for lunch, I love you." Abby murmured before she handed Anton to Anna and watched as they disappeared into the back room, all without Anton making a sound.

She managed not to start crying but it took her five minutes to leave the daycare and five more minutes in the parking lot before she could drive away. She got to work soon after and was greeted by her favorite team waiting for her in her lab.

She had to hug Ziva as soon as she walked in to keep from crying. Everyone tried to say something happy to her while Ziva held her awkwardly. Gibbs shooed everyone but Ziva out and rubbed Abby's back.

"Don't worry, you'll see him soon." Gibbs said soothingly.

Abby let go of Ziva only to fling her arms around Gibbs. When she was freed Ziva gave Gibbs a knowing smile and then left the lab.

The first few days were the hardest for Abby, just getting used to not having Anton around all the time and trusting others with his care and getting back into the swing of lab work. Vance was pretty lax during the transition period and gave Abby the space she needed to adjust.

The team ended up taking turns visiting Anton at the center. Tony liked to go just before lunch to just hold Anton and talk to him for a while, Abby crossed paths with him a few times when she went to eat lunch with Anton. Ziva and McGee would often have lunch with Abby just to get away from the Navy Yard. Ziva liked the atmosphere of the daycare and McGee just liked getting away from Tony.

Gibbs however, was much more sporadic. She didn't even know he was going until Anna said something when Abby was picking him up one day. "Is Gibbs okay?" She asked concerned.

"What do you mean?" Abby asked confused.

"Well, he normally checks on Anton three times a day, he hasn't been here at all today, it was strange." Anna said still looking worried.

Abby was practically floored. Gibbs never mentioned he was going to see Anton, even though he was first on the list to see and take Anton if needed. She almost didn't know what to say. "Busy day." She mumbled inadequately as she took Anton in his car seat to her car.

The drive back to her apartment she tried not to get her hopes up that Gibbs would assume his natural role as Anton's father or that they would all live happily ever-after. She knew that Gibbs cared greatly about everyone and that would pass on to whatever children they had.

Anton was almost four months old now and the guilt was now settling in that the father slot on his birth certificate read 'unknown'. She remembered what it was like to cuddle with her father and feel like nothing in the world could hurt her. She wondered if Anton would still feel that way with Gibbs or even Tony and McGee. She figured they would make up for anything missing in his life. Like the possibility of siblings. She hoped they would all have kids of their own so he had cousins in some way.

When she got home it was blissfully silent and unfortunately cluttered. Anton had to be fed again so she gave him another bottle and laid him in his play pen in the center of the house so she could watch him while she cleaned up, she had to start another load of laundry and clean the kitchen.

Anton was quiet even though he didn't sleep and just rolled around in his playpen which distracted Abby because she would stop to make sure he was okay and then laugh at the new awkward position he was in, and liked trying to follow his mother as she zipped around the house. It was a lot of work, like always, but she managed, all while making dinner for herself. This was her routine that she fell in line with easily.

After she was able to eat and get Anton ready for bed, she put him to sleep and showered then cleaned up the little things that needed to be done in the kitchen before she went to bed and her cell phone rang. She hoped it wasn't an emergency because she didn't know what she would do with Anton and she really didn't want to leave him.

When she finally looked at her phone she saw Gibbs name and answered it easily. "Hey Gibbs," She said quietly.

"How're you two doing?" He asked with the faintest echo from the phone. Abby could tell he was in his basement.

"We're fine. Anton is pretending he is on fire half the time with all the rolling he does." She laughed.

Gibbs chuckled at that and it made Abby smile to hear him happy. "Just wanted to check up on you guys." He reaffirmed, almost like he was telling it to himself.

Abby knew she shouldn't but she brought up what they told her at the daycare anyway. "The girls at the daycare were worried about you, they said you didn't come at all today." She said with an almost probing tone.

"Busy day." He answered curtly.

"That's what I figured." She said easily and the line went painfully quiet. "You know, you don't have to sneak into the daycare to see him, you can come over whenever Gibbs." She told him quickly.

"That's your time with him." He said quickly.

Abby frowned a little then. "I don't mind sharing him." She said surely.

"Get some sleep Abby." He murmured before he hung up on her.

She sighed and put her phone back on her bedside table and connected to the charger then changed into her sleepwear. She didn't have to work the next day, which she was happy about, she already planned on spending the day with Tony and Ziva and Anton.

She thought about inviting Gibbs, but then she realized he probably wouldn't even go since it was mostly shopping. Or at least she thought it was. They were pretty secretive on details but she didn't mind, they both liked to take care of Anton for her.

She curled up in her bed and relaxed. She wasn't as tired as she thought she was but she knew that had more to do with Gibbs perplexing her again, rather than the full day she had at work and with Anton. She forced herself to close her eyes and hoped for a nice day with Tony and Ziva when she opened them.

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	19. Living Arrangements

AN: SO CLOSE I CAN SMELL IT. Yes, I'm talking about the ending. I don't think it will be a big dramatic thing because that's not what I want. I want it to be calm and happy. And happy it will be! For now, take this update and be happy! :D

Chapter Nineteen

Living Arrangements

Everything had been going so well. Anton was almost seven months old now, holding himself up, on solid food and completely content with his surroundings when a pipe burst in the middle of the day. It wasn't even from her apartment but from the next door neighbors. Regardless it soaked through the walls and gave her a small pool in her home. She did what she normally did, she called Gibbs.

"My apartment is underwater!" She cried as soon as he answered. Anton squealed mockingly to her from the bathtub as he splashed around.

"What?" Gibbs asked incredulously.

"There was a pipe that burst and now its everywhere, can we stay with you while they fix it?" She asked desperately.

"What about Tony?" He asked awkwardly.

"He just moved in with Ziva, you know that. Please Gibbs." She pled. He hated accepting the relationship let alone how it affected his own work and personal life, like now.

He sighed a little and dropped his head, he wasn't going to say no anyway. "I'll be over." He said quietly and the line dropped.

Abby packed what was the most important and tried her hardest to keep any water from leaking into the bedrooms, but it didn't matter much since it was saturating the walls. Gibbs showed up a few minutes later with McGee.

"Start grabbing stuff." Gibbs ordered. Anton giggled and reached out for Gibbs as soon as he saw him. Gibbs smiled a little and shook his little fist before he walked around them and helped McGee.

They spend the next hour clearing Abby's apartment of what they could. Ziva showed up with Tony and took Anton to a nearby park with Tristan since Evy came over as well while the rest of the team did what they could to load her things into the storage area of the apartment. Most of the furniture fit and Abby loaded clothes and such into Evy's truck to take to Gibbs' house.

It was a bit of a rush job but they needed to rush before the water contaminated everything. Abby had never been happier that Gibbs kept his home so empty. There was already a room that would be fine for Abby and Anton and they set them up there as quickly as possible and Abby had to go back to deal with her super.

Gibbs joined Evy and Ziva at the park with the boys now that everything was moved. McGee and Tony were helping Abby with the manager of the apartments. Ziva was swinging with Anton in her lap while Tristan swung much higher next to her and Evy was sitting on a bench reading. Gibbs walked over to Evy and sat next to her.

"Is everything finished?" Evy asked without looking up from her book.

"Yep." Gibbs said simply.

Evy looked up when she heard a thump and saw Tristan had jumped but was okay. Ziva was talking animatedly to Anton. "She'd make a good mom." She said to Gibbs.

"Tony's still alive isn't he?" Gibbs said offhand.

Evy laughed. Tristan was jumping mid swing and rolling expertly to his feet and Anton was laughing as he watched him. He was perfectly content in his godmothers arms, oblivious to his mother's current problem. He was tall for his age and Gibbs wasn't all that surprised since Abby was just as tall as he was. But she was right, Ziva was going to make a good mother whenever she became one.

Abby, Tony and McGee showed up half an hour later and Abby looked irritated. They played at the park with the kids for a little while before they all went their own ways. Gibbs drove back to his home with Abby following him with Anton.

Anton was a well adjusted boy and started crawling as soon as Abby put him down and began exploring his new surroundings. He hadn't spent a lot of time there since Gibbs mostly went to their house. There wasn't much for him to get into trouble with since Gibbs kept his place clean. Abby had to take a shower when she got back because she was sweaty and covered in water from the apartment leak.

Gibbs watched Anton crawl around and kept him from getting his fingers stuck in particular places. Anton preferred to crawl around the couch so he could pull himself up and try to walk. He still didn't have the basics of walking down but he tried as hard as he could. He was a curious child and did kept everyone on their toes because of it.

As much as he wouldn't admit it out loud, Gibbs liked having a baby back in his home. He didn't care that there would be more of a mess or more things he'd have to keep an eye out for that might hurt Anton but he was prepared. It wasn't liked he hadn't already been aware of things that would hurt his son.

He physically winced at that. He had to keep himself from saying that, even to himself. Because Anton was Abby's son. Not his.

"How's the little monkey?" Abby asked as she walked out of the bathroom while she dried her hair with a towel.

Anton squealed and crawled over to his mother and she picked him up easily. Gibbs watched her as she talked to him and held a conversation without his express consent.

"Thanks Gibbs," She said with a smile.

He gave her a twitch of his lips. "No problem." He said as he adjusted himself on the couch. It felt awkward for him to be thanked for watching his own flesh and blood.

Abby sat down on the couch next to him with Anton in her lap. "They said it would be a month before I could move back into my own apartment." She said exhaustedly.

"You're both welcome here." He offered.

"Thanks Gibbs." She murmured as she leaned her head to rest on Gibbs' shoulder.

He put his arm around her and hugged her while they sat on the couch, watching the football game that Anton yelled at in his baby babble.

Gibbs enjoyed having them both with him while he watched the game. Anton liked the rapid camera movements and Abby didn't mind watching sports. Gibbs cooked dinner for them, Abby put the food in front of Anton in little portions and let him do what he could to get it into his mouth. He wasn't a very messy eater but he still needed to work on his aim to his mouth.

After dinner it was bath time for Anton and Abby handed him to Gibbs. "I'll clean all this up and you can clean all of him up." She offered with a smile.

Gibbs really couldn't refuse because he didn't mind giving Anton a bath and it made him feel useful at the moment.

Anton liked to splash, a lot, and by the end of the bath, Gibbs was partially soaked as well. He got Anton out of the bath and took him to his room to dress him in his pajamas while Abby continued to clean up. The pack-n-play crib was set up in the spare room where Abby's mattress was and Gibbs put the tired Anton in the bed to play with his toys while he went to get Abby but when he went out to the living room, she was asleep on the couch.

He chuckled as he scooped her up and carried her to the spare room. He put her on her bed and looked over to see Anton just as thoroughly passed out with his butt in the air. Gibbs had to stop himself from laughing, lest he wake either one of them up.

Abby's bed wasn't made so he had to dig the pillows out of the mess of things for her and get the blanket for her as well. He set up her pillows like he remembered them and laid her more precisely on them and put the blanket around her. She made a few mumbling sounds but curled herself up in the blanket without issue and kept sleeping.

Gibbs laid down on the bed to spend a few minutes watching over them, just to make sure they were really okay. They were completely passed out and dead to the world. He smiled seeing them so comfortable but didn't move. Abby's bed was truthfully more comfortable than his and he liked where he was at the moment. So he made himself comfortable, kicked off his shoes and closed his eyes wondering if he could sleep there. He found himself drifting off to sleep a lot faster than he was normally used to, and he was okay with that.

AN: Review!


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